THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
BENVENUTO CELLINI
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
CIT^TP *i
JC&JL&c
TRANSLATED BY
JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS
ILLUSTRATED BY SALVADOR DALI
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 1948
ILLUSTRATIONS
COPYRIGHT, 1946, BY DOVBLEDAY ft COMPANY, INC
Book First
* LL MEN, of whatsoever quality they be,
who have done anything of excellence, or which may properly re-
semble excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth and honesty,
to describe their life with their own hand; but they ought not to
attempt so fine an enterprise till they have passed the age of forty.
This duty occurs to my own mind, now that I am travelling beyond
the term of fifty-eight years, and am in Florence, the city of my
birth. Many untoward things can I remember, such as happen to
all who live upon our earth; and from those adversities I am now
more free than at any previous period of my career nay, it seems to
me that I enjoy greater content of soul and health of body than ever
I did in bygone years. I can also bring to mind some pleasant goods
and some inestimable evils, which, when I turn my thoughts back-
ward, strike terror in me, and astonishment that I should have
reached this age of fifty-eight, wherein, thanks be to God, I am
still travelling prosperously forward.
II
IT is TRUE that men who have laboured with some show of excel-
lence, have already given knowledge of themselves to the world;
and this alone ought to suffice them; I mean the fact that they have
proved their manhood and achieved renown. Yet one must needs live
like others; and so in a work like this there will always be found
occasion for natural bragging, which is of divers kinds, and the first
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
is that a man should let others know he draws his lineage from per-
sons of worth and most ancient origin.
I am called Benvenuto Cellini, son of Maestro Giovanni, son of
Andrea, son of Cristofano Cellini; my mother was Madonna Elisa-
betta, daughter to Stefano Granacci; both parents citizens of Flor-
ence. It is found written in chronicles made by our ancestors of
Florence, men of old time and of credibility, even as Giovanni
Villani writes, that the city of Florence was evidently built in imi-
tation of the fair city of Rome; and certain remnants of the Colos-
seum and the Baths can yet be traced. These things are near Santa
Croce. The Capitol was where is now the Old Market. The Rotonda
is entire, which was made for the temple of Mars, and is now dedi-
cated to our Saint John. That thus it was, can very well be seen,
and cannot be denied; but the said buildings are much smaller than
those of Rome. He who caused them to be built, they say, was
Julius Caesar, in concert with some noble Romans, who, when Fiesole
had been stormed and taken, raised a city in this place, and each of
them took in hand to erect one of these notable edifices.
Julius Caesar had among his captains a man of highest rank and
valour, who was called Fiorino of Cellino, which is a village about
two miles distant from Monte Fiascone. Now this Fiorino took up
his quarters under the hill of Fiesole, on the ground where Florence
now stands, in order to be near the river Arno, and for the con-
venience of the troops. All those soldiers and others who had to do
with the said captain used then to say: "Let us go to Fiorenze"; as
well because the said captain was called Fiorino, as also because the
place he had chosen for his quarters was by nature very rich in
flowers. Upon the foundation of the city, therefore, since this name
struck Julius Caesar as being fair and apt, and given by circumstance,
and seeing furthermore that flowers themselves bring good augury,
he appointed the name of Florence for the town. He wished besides
to pay his valiant captain this compliment; and he loved him all the
more for having drawn him from a very humble place, and for the
reason that so excellent a man was a creature of his own. The name
that learned inventors and investigators of such etymologies adduce,
as that Florence is flowing at the Arno, cannot hold; seeing that
Rome is flowing at the Tiber, Ferrara is flowing at the Po, Lyons is
flowing at the Saone, Paris is flowing at the Seine, and yet the names
of all these towns are different, and have come to them by other
ways.*
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Thus then we find; and thus we believe that we are descended
from a man of worth. Furthermore, we find that there are Cellinis of
our stock in Ravenna, that most ancient town of Italy, where too are
plenty of gentlefolk. In Pisa also there are some, and I have dis-
covered them in many parts of Christendom; and in this state also
the breed exists, men devoted to the profession of arms; for not
many years ago a young man, called Luca Cellini, a beardless youth,
fought with a soldier of experience and a most valorous man, named
Francesco da Vicorati, who had frequently fought before in single
combat. This Luca, by his own valour, with sword in hand, over-
came and slew him, with such bravery and stoutness that he moved
the folk to wonder, who were expecting quite the contrary issue;
so that I glory in tracing my descent from men of valour.
As for the trifling honours which I have gained for my house,
under the well-known conditions of our present ways of living, and
by means of my art, albeit the same are matters of no great moment,
I will relate these in their proper time and place, taking much more
pride in having been born humble and having laid some honourable
foundation for my family, than if I had been born of great lineage
and had stained or overclouded that by my base qualities. So then
I will make a beginning by saying how it pleased God I should be
born.
Ill
MY ANCESTORS dwelt in Val d'Ambra, where they owned large
estates, and lived like little lords, in retirement, however, on account
of the then contending factions. They were all men devoted to anre
and of notable bravery. In that time one of their sons, the youngec,
who was called Cristofano, roused a great feud with certain of their
friends and neighbours. Now the heads of the families on both sides
took part in it, and the fire kindled seemed to them so threatening
that their houses were like to perish utterly; the elders upon this con-
sideration, in concert with my own ancestors, removed Cristofano;
and the other youth with whom the quarrel began was also sent
away. They sent their young man to Siena, Our folk sent Cristofano
to Florence; and there they bought for him a little house in Via
Chiara, close to the convent of S. Orsola, and they also purchased
for him some very good property near the Ponte a Rifredi. The said
Cristofano took wife in Florence, and had sons and daughters; and
[51
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
when all the daughters had been portioned off, the sons, after their
father's death, divided what remained. The house in Via Chiara with
some other trifles fell to the share of one of the said sons, who had
the name of Andrea. He also took wife, and had four male children.
The first was called Girolamo, the second Bartolommeo, the third
Giovanni, who was afterwards my father, and the fourth Francesco.
This Andrea Cellini was very well versed in architecture, as it was then
practised, and lived by it as his trade. Giovanni, who was my father,
paid more attention to it than any of the other brothers. And since
Vitruvius says, amongst other things, that one who wishes to practise
that art well must have something of music and good drawing,
Giovanni, when he had mastered drawing, began to turn his mind
to music, and together with the theory learned to play most excel-
lently on the viol and the flute; and being a person of studious habits,
he left his home but seldom.
They had for neighbour in the next house a man called Stefano
Granacci, who had several daughters, all of them of remarkable
beauty. As it pleased God, Giovanni noticed one of these girls who
was named Elisabetta; and she found such favour with him that he
asked her in marriage. The fathers of both of them being well ac-
quainted through their close neighbourhood, it was easy to make
this match up; and each thought that he had very well arranged his
affairs. First of all the two good old men agreed upon the marriage;
then they began to discuss the dowry, which led to a certain amount
of friendly difference; for Andrea said to Stefano: "My son Giovanni
is the stoutest youth of Florence, and of all Italy to boot, and if I had
wanted earlier to have him married, I could have procured one of
the largest dowries which folk of our rank get in Florence": where*
upon Stefano answered: "You have a thousand reasons on your side;
but here am I with five daughters and as many sons, and when my
reckoning is made, this is as much as I can possibly afford." Giovanni,
who had been listening awhile unseen by them, suddenly broke in
and said: "O my father, I have sought and loved that girl and not
their money. Ill luck to those who seek to fill their pockets by the
dowry of their wife! As you have boasted that I am a fellow of such
parts, do you not think that I shall be able to provide for my wife
and satisfy her needs, even if I receive something short of the por-
tion you would like to get? Now I must make you understand that
die woman is mine, and you may take the dowry for yourself." At
this Andrea Cellini, who was a man of rather awkward temper,
[6]
THE AUTOBICX5RAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
grew a trifle angry; but after a few days Giovanni took his wife, and
never asked for other portion with her.
They enjoyed their youth and wedded love through eighteen
years, always greatly desiring to be blessed with children. At the
end of this time Giovanni's wife miscarried of two boys through
the unskilf illness of the doctors. Later on she was again with child,
and gave birth to a girl, whom they called Cosa, after the mother of
my father. 2 At the end of two years she was once more with child;
and inasmuch as those longings to which pregnant women are sub-
ject, and to which they pay much attention, were now exactly the
same as those of her former pregnancy, they made their minds up
that she would give birth to a female as before, and agreed to call the
child Reparata, after the mother of my mother. It happened that
she was delivered on a night of All Saints, following the feast-day,
at half -past four precisely, in the year 1500.* The midwife, who
knew that they were expecting a girl, after she had washed the
baby and wrapped it in the fairest white linen, came softly to my
father Giovanni and said: "I am bringing you a fine present, such as
you did not anticipate." My father, who was a true philosopher,
was walking up and down, and answered: "What God gives me is
always dear to me"; and when he opened the swaddling clothes, he
saw with his own eyes the unexpected male child. Joining together
the palms of his old hands, he raised them with his eyes to God, and
said: "Lord, I thank Thee with my whole heart; this gift is very
dear to me; let him be Welcome." All the persons who were there
asked him joyfully what name the child should bear. Giovanni
would make no other answer than "Let him be Welcome Ben-
venuto"; 4 and so they resolved, and this name was given me at Holy
Baptism, and by it I still am living with the grace of God.
IV
ANDREA CELLINI was yet alive when I was about three years old, and
he had passed his hundredth. One day they had been altering a cer-
tain conduit pertaining to a cistern, and there issued from it a great
scorpion unperceived by them, which crept down from the astern
to die ground, and slank away beneath a bench. I saw it, and ran up
to it, and laid my hands upon it. It was so big that when I had it in
my little hands, it put out its tail on one side, and on the other thrust
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
forth both ks mouths. 6 They relate that I ran in high joy to my
grandfather, crying out: "Look, grandpapa, at my pretty little crab."
When he recognised that the creature was a scorpion, he was on the
point of falling dead for the great fear he had and anxiety about me.
He coaxed and entreated me to give it him; but the more he begged,
die tighter I clasped it, crying and saying I would not give it to
any one. My father, who was also in the house, ran up when he
heard my screams, and in his stupefaction could not think how to
prevent the venomous animal from killing me. Just then his eyes
chanced to fall upon a pair of scissors; and so, while soothing and
caressing me, he cut its tail and mouths off. Afterwards, when the
great peril had been thus averted, he took the occurrence for a good
augury.
When I was about five years old my father happened to be in a
basement-chamber of our house, where they had been washing, and
where a good fire of oak-logs was still burning; he had a viol in his
hand, and was playing and singing alone beside the fire. The weather
was very cold. Happening to look into the fire, he spied in the middle
of those most burning flames a little creature like a lizard, which was
sporting in the core of the intensest coals. Becoming instantly aware
of what the thing was, he had my sister and me called, and pointing
k out to us children, gave me a great box on the ears, which caused
me to howl and weep with all my might. Then he pacified me good-
humouredly, and spoke as follows: "My dear little boy, I am not
striking you for any wrong that you have done, but only to make
you remember that that lizard which you see in the fire is a
salamander, a creature which has never been seen before by any
one of whom we have credible information." So saying, he kissed
me and gave me some pieces of money.
MY FATHER began teaching me to play upon the flute and sing by
note; but notwithstanding I was of that tender age when little
children are wont to take pastime in whistles and such toys, I had
an inexpressible dislike for it, and played and sang only to obey him.
My father in those times fashioned wonderful organs with pipes of
wood, spinets the fairest and most excellent which then could be
seen, viols and lutes and harps of the most beautiful and perfect
m
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
construction. He was an engineer, and had marvellous skill in making
instruments for lowering bridges and for working mills, and other
machines of that sort. In ivory he was the first who wrought really-
well. But after he had fallen in love with the woman who was des-
tined to become my mother perhaps what brought them together
was that little flute, to which indeed he paid more attention than
was proper he was entreated by the fif ers of the Signory to play in
their company. Accordingly he did so for some time to amuse him-
self, until by constant importunity they induced him to become a
member of their band. Lorenzo de* Medici and Piero his son, who
had a great liking for him, perceived later on that he was devoting
himself wholly to the fife, and was neglecting his fine engineering
talent and his beautiful art. 6 So they had him removed from that
post. My father took this very ill, and it seemed to him that they
had done him a great despite. Yet he immediately resumed his art,
and fashioned a mirror, about a cubit in diameter, out of bone
and ivory, with figures and foliage of great finish and grand design.
The mirror was in the form of a wheel. In the middle was the look-
ing-glass; around it were seven circular pieces, on which were the
Seven Virtues, carved and joined of ivory and black bone. The
whole mirror, together with the Virtues, was placed in equilibrium,
so that when the wheel turned, all the Virtues moved, and they had
weights at their feet which kept them upright. Possessing some ac-
quaintance with the Latin tongue, he put a legend in Latin round
his looking-glass, to this effect: "Whithersoever the wheel of For-
tune turns, Virtue stands firm upon her feet":
Rot a mm: semper, quoquo me verto, stat Virtus.
A little while after this he obtained his place again among the fifers.
Although some of these things happened before I was born, my
familiarity with them has moved me to set them down here. In those
days the musicians of the Signory were all of them members of the
most honourable trades, and some of them belonged to the greater
guilds of silk and wool; 7 and that was the reason why my father did
not disdain to follow this profession, and his chief desire with regard
to me was always that I should become a great performer on the
flute. I for my part felt never more discontented than when he chose
to talk to me about this scheme, and to tell me that, if I liked, he
discerned in me such aptitudes that I might become the best man in
Che world.
[9]
VI
As i HAVE SAID, my father was the devoted servant and attached
friend of the hftuse of Medici; and when Piero was banished, he
entrusted him with many affairs of the greatest possible importance.
Afterwards, when the magnificent Piero Soderini was elected, and
my father continued in his office of musician, Soderini, perceiving
his wonderful talent, began to employ him in many matters of great
importance as an engineer. 8 So long as Soderini remained in Florence,
he showed the utmost good-will to my father; and in those days, I
being still of tender age, my father had me carried, and made me
perform upon the flute; I used to play treble in concert with the
musicians of the palace before the Signory, following my notes:
and a beadle used to carry me upon his shoulders. The Gonfalonier,
that is, Soderini, whom I have already mentioned, took much pleasure
in making me chatter, and gave me comfits, and was wont to say to
my father: "Maestro Giovanni, beside music, teach the boy those
[10]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
other arts wfiich do you so much honour," To which my father
answered: "I do not wish him to practise any art but playing and
composing; for in this profession I hope to make him the greatest
man of the world, if God prolongs his life." To these words one of
the old counsellors made answer: "Ah! Maestro Giovanni, do what
the Gonfalonier tells you! for why should he never become any-
thing more than a good musician?"
Thus some time passed, until the Medici returned. 9 When they
arrived, the Cardinal, who afterwards became Pope Leo, received
my father very kindly. During their exile the scutcheons which
were on the palace of the Medici had had their balls erased, and a
great red cross painted over them, which was the bearing of the
Commune. 10 Accordingly, as soon as they returned, the red cross
was scratched out, and on the scutcheon the red balls and the
golden field were painted in again, and finished with great beauty.
My father, who possessed a simple vein of poetry, instilled in him
by nature, together with a certain touch of prophecy, which was
doubtless a divine gift in him, wrote these four verses under the
said arms of the Medici, when they were uncovered to the view:
These arms, 'which have so long from sight been laid
Beneath the holy cross, that symbol meek,
Now lift their glorious glad face, and seek
With Peter's sacred cloak to be arrayed.
This epigram was read by all Florence. A few days afterwards
Pope Julius II died. The Cardinal de' Medici went to Rome, and was
elected Pope against the expectation of everybody. He reigned as
Leo X, that generous and great soul. My father sent him lids four
prophetic verses. The Pope sent to tell him to come to Rome; for
this would be to his advantage. But he had no will to go; and so, in
lieu of reward, his place in the palace was taken from him by Jacopo
Salviati, upon that man's election as Gonfalonier. 21 This was the
reason why I commenced goldsmith; after which I spent part of
my time in learning that art, and part in playing, much against
my will.
VII
WHEN MY FATHER spoke to me in the way I have above described,
I entreated him to let me draw a certain fixed number of hours in
[u]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the day; all the rest of my time I would give to music, only with the
view of satisfying his desire. Upon this he said to me: "So then, you
take no pleasure in playing?" To which I answered, "No"; because
that art seemed too base in comparison with what I had in my own
mind. My good father, driven to despair by this fixed idea of mine,
placed me in the workshop of Cavaliere Bandinello's father, who was
called Michel Agnolo, a goldsmith from Pinzi di Monte, and a master
excellent in that craft. 12 He had no distinction of birth whatever,
but was the son of a charcoal-seller. This is no blame to Bandinello,
who has founded the honour of the family if only he had done
so honestly! However that may be, I have no cause now to talk
about him. After I had stayed there some days, my father took me
away from Michel Agnolo, finding himself unable to live without
having me always under his eyes. Accordingly, much to my discon-
tent, I remained at music till.I reached the age of fifteen. If I were to
describe all the wonderful things that happened to me up to that
time, and all the great dangers to my own life which I ran, I should
astound my readers; but, in order to avoid prolixity, and having very
much to relate, I will omit these incidents.
When I reached the age of fifteen, I put myself, against my father's
will, to the goldsmith's trade with a man called Antonio, son of
Sandro, known commonly as Marcone the goldsmith. He was a
most excellent craftsman and a very good fellow to boot, high-
spirited and frank in all his ways. My father would not let him give
me wages like the other apprentices; for having taken up the study
of this art to please myself, he wished me to indulge my whim for
drawing to the full. I did so willingly enough; and that honest master
of mine took marvellous delight in my performances. He had an
only son, a bastard, to whom he often gave his orders, in order to
spare me. My liking for the art was so great, or, I may truly say, my
natural bias, both one and the other, that in a few months I caught
up the good, nay, the best young craftsmen in our business, and
began to reap the fruits of my labours. I did not, however, neglect
to gratify my good father from time to time by playing on the flute
or cornet. Each time he heard me, I used to make his tears fall ac-
companied with deep-drawn sighs of satisfaction. My filial piety
often made me give him that contentment, and induced me to pre-
tend that I enjoyed the music too.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
VIII
.\T THAT TIME I had a brother, younger by two years, a youth of
extreme boldness and fierce temper. He afterwards became one of
the great soldiers in the school of that marvellous general Giovannino
de' Medici, father of Duke Cosimo. 18 The boy was about fourteen,
and I two years older. One Sunday evening, just before nightfall,
he happened to find himself between the gate San Gallo and the
Porta a Pinti; in this quarter he came to duel with a young fellow of
twenty or thereabouts. They both had swords; and my brother dealt
so valiantly that, after having badly wounded him, he was upon the
point of following up his advantage. There was a great crowd of
people present, among whom were many of the adversary's kinsfolk.
Seeing that the thing was going ill for their own man, they put hand
to their slings, a stone from one of which hit my poor brother in
the head. He fell to the ground at once in a dead faint. It so chanced
that I had been upon the spot alone, and without arms; and I had
done my best to get my brother out of the fray by calling to him:
"Make off; you have done enough." Meanwhile, as luck would
have it, he fell, as I have said, half dead to earth. I ran up at once,
seized his sword, and stood in front of him, bearing the brunt of
several rapiers and a shower of stones. I never left his side until some
brave soldiers came from the gate San Gallo and rescued me from
the raging crowd; they marvelled much, the while, to find such
valour in so young a boy.
Then I carried my brother home for dead, and it was only with
great difficulty that he came to himself again. When he was cured,
the Eight, who had already condemned our adversaries and banished
them for a term of years, sent us also into exile for six months at a
distance of ten miles from Florence. 14 1 said to my brother: "Come
along with me"; and so we took leave of our poor father; and in-
stead of giving us money, for he had none, he bestowed on us his
blessing. I went to Siena, wishing to look up a certain worthy man
called Maestro Francesco Castoro. On another occasion, when I had
run away from my father, I went to this good man, and stayed some
time with him, working at the goldsmith's trade until my father sent
for me back. Francesco, when I reached him, recognised me at once,
and gave me work to do. While thus occupied, he placed a house at my
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
disposal for the whole time of my sojourn in Siena. Into this I
moved, together with my brother, and applied myself to labour for
the space of several months. My brother had acquired the rudiments
of Latin, but was still so young that he could not yet relish the
taste of virtuous employment, but passed his time in dissipation.
IX
THE CARDINAL DE' MEDICI, who afterwards became Pope Clement
VTI, had us recalled to Florence at the entreaty of my father. 15 A
certain pupil of my father's, moved by his own bad nature, suggested
to the Cardinal that he ought to send me to Bologna, in order to
learn to play well from a great master there. The name of this
master was Antonio, and he was in truth a worthy man in the
musician's art. The Cardinal said to my father that, if he sent me
there, he would give me letters of recommendation and support. My
father, dying with joy at such an opportunity, sent me off; and I
being eager to see the world, went with good grace.
When I reached Bologna, I put myself under a certain Maestro
Ercole del Piffero, and began to earn something by my trade. In
the meantime I used to go every day to take my music-lesson, and
in a few weeks made considerable progress in that accursed art.
However, I made still greater in my trade of goldsmith; for the
Cardinal having given me no assistance, I went to live with a
Bolognese illuminator who was called Scipione Cavalletti (his house
was in the street of our Lady del Baraccan); and while there I de-
voted myself to drawing and working for one Graziadio, a Jew, with
whom I earned considerably.
At the end of six months I returned to Florence, where that fel-
low Pierino, who had been my father's pupil, was gready mortified
by my return. To please my father, I went to his house and played
the cornet and the flute with one of his brothers, who was named
Girolamo, several years younger than the said Piero, a very worthy
young man, and quite the contrary of his brother. On one of those
days my father came to Piero's house to hear us play, and in ecstasy
at my performance exclaimed: "I shall yet make you a marvellous
musician against the will of all or any one who may desire to prevent
me." To this Piero answered, and spoke the truth: "Your Benvenuto
will get much more honour and profit if he devotes himself to die
[14]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
goldsmith's trade than to this piping." These words made my father
so angry, seeing that I too had the same opinion as Piero, that he
flew into a rage and cried out to him: "Well did I know that it was
you, you who put obstacles in the way of my cherished wish; you
are the man who had me ousted from my place at the palace, paying
me back with that black ingratitude which is the usual recompense
of great benefits. I got you promoted, and you have got me cashiered;
I taught you to play with all the little art you have, and you are
preventing my son from obeying me; but bear in mind these words
of prophecy: not years or months, I say, but only a few weeks will
pass before this dirty ingratitude of yours shall plunge you into
ruin." To these words answered Pierino and said: "Maestro Giovanni,
the majority of men, when they grow old, go mad at the same time;
and this has happened to you. I am not astonished at it, because most
liberally have you squandered all your property, without reflecting
that your children had need of it. I mind to do just the opposite, and
to leave my children so much that they shall be able to succour
yours." To this my father answered: "No bad tree ever bore good
fruit; quite the contrary; and I tell you further that you are bad,
and that your children will be mad and paupers, and will cringe for
alms to my virtuous and wealthy sons." Thereupon we left the house,
muttering words of anger on both sides. I had taken my father's
part; and when we stepped into the street together, I told him I
was quite ready to take vengeance for the insults heaped on him by
that scoundrel, provided you permit me to give myself up to the
art of design. He answered: "My dear son, I too in my time was a
good draughtsman; but for recreation, after such stupendous labours,
and for the love of me who am your father, who begat you and
brought you up and implanted so many honourable talents in you,
for the sake of recreation, I say, will not you promise sometimes
to take in hand your flute and that seductive cornet, and to play
upon them to your heart's content, inviting the delight of music?"
I promised I would do so, and very willingly for his love's sake. Then
my good father said that such excellent parts as I possessed would be
the greatest vengeance I could take for the insults of his enemies.
Not a whole month had been completed after this scene before
the man Pierino happened to be building a vault in a house of his,
which he had in the Via dello Studio; and being one day in a ground-
floor room above the vault which he was making, together with
much company around him, he fell to talking about his old master,
[15]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
my father. While repeating the words which he had said to him
concerning his ruin, no sooner had they escaped his lips than the
floor where he was standing (either because the vault had been
badly built, or rather through the sheer mightiness of God, who
does not always pay on Saturday) suddenly gave way. Some of the
stones and bricks of the vault, which fell with him, broke both his
legs. The friends who were with him, remaining on the border of
the broken vault, took no harm, but were astounded and full of
wonder especially because of the prophecy which he had just con-
temptuously repeated to them. When my father heard of this, he
took his sword, and went to see the man. There, in the presence
of his father, who was called Niccolaio da Volterra, a trumpeter of
die Signory, he said: "O Piero, my dear pupil, I am sorely grieved
at your mischance; but if you remember, it was only a short time
ago that I warned you of it; and as much as I then said will come
to happen between your children and mine." Shortly afterwards,
die ungrateful Piero died of that illness. He left a wife of bad char-
acter and one son, who after the lapse of some years came to me to
beg for alms in Rome. I gave him something, as well because it is my
nature to be charitable, as also because I recalled with tears the happy
state which Pierino held when my father spake those words of
prophecy, namely, that Pierino's children should live to crave succour
from his own virtuous sons. Of this perhaps enough is now said;
but let none ever laugh at the prognostications of any worthy man
whom he has wrongfully insulted; because it is not he who speaks,
nay, but the very voice of God through him.
ALL THIS WHILE I worked as a goldsmith, and was able to assist my
good father. His other son, my brother Cecchino, had, as I said
before, been instructed in the rudiments of Latin letters. It was our
father's wish to make me, the elder, a great musician and composer,
and him, the younger, a great and learned jurist. He could not, how-
ever, put force upon the inclinations of our nature, which directed
me to the arts of design, and my brother, who had a fine and graceful
person, to the profession of arms. Cecchino, being still quite a lad,
was returning from his first lesson in the school of the stupendous
Giovannino de' Medici. On the day when he reached home, I hap*
[16]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
pened to be absent; and he, being in want of proper clothes, sought
out our sisters, who, unknown to my father, gave him a cloak and
doublet of mine, both new and of good quality. I ought to say that,
beside the aid I gave my father and my excellent and honest sisters,
I had bought those handsome clothes out of my own savings. When
I found I had been cheated, and my clothes taken from me, and my
brother from whom I should have recovered them was gone, I asked
my father why he suffered so great a wrong to be done me, seeing
that I was always ready to assist him. He replied that I was his good
son, but that the other, whom he thought to have lost, had been
found again; also that it was his duty, nay, a precept from God Him-
self, that he who hath should give to him who hath not; and that
for his sake I ought to bear this injustice, for God would increase
me in all good things. I, like a youth without experience, retorted
on my poor afflicted parent; and taking the miserable remnants of
my clothes and money, went toward a gate of the city. As I did not
know which gate would start me on the road to Rome, I arrived
at Lucca, and from Lucca reached Pisa.
When I came to Pisa (I was about sixteen years of age at the time),
I stopped near the middle bridge, by what is called the Fish-stone, at
the shop of a goldsmith, and began attentively to watch what the
master was about." He asked me who I was, and what was my
profession. I told him that I worked a little in the same trade as his
own. This worthy man bade me come into his shop, and at once
gave me work to do, and spoke as follows: "Your good appearance
makes me believe you are a decent honest youth," Then he told me
out gold, silver, and gems; and when the first day's work was fin-
ished, he took me in the evening to his house, where he dwelt
respectably with his handsome wife and children. Thinking of the
grief which my good father might be feeling for me, I wrote him
that I was sojourning with a very excellent and honest man, called
Maestro Ulivieri della Chiostra, and was working with him at many
things of beauty and importance. I bade him be of good cheer, for
that I was bent on learning, and hoped by my acquirements to bring
him back both profit and honour before long. My good father an-
swered the letter at once in words like these: "My son, the love I
bear you is so great, that if it were not for the honour of our family,
which above all things I regard, I should immediately have set off
for you; for indeed it seems like being without the light of my eyes,
when I do not see you daily, as I used to do. I will make it my busi-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
ness to complete the training of my household up to virtuous
honesty; do you make it yours to acquire excellence in your art;
and I only wish you to remember these four simple words, obey
them and never let them escape your memory:
"In whatever house you be,
Steal not, and live honestly"
XI
THIS LETTER fell into the hands of my master Ulivieri, and he read
it unknown to me. Afterwards he avowed that he had read it, and
added: "So then, my Benvenuto, your good looks did not deceive
me, as a letter from your father which has come into my hands gives
me assurance, which proves him to be a man of notable honesty and
worth. Consider yourself then to be at home here, and as though in
your own father's house."
While I stayed at Pisa, I went to see the Campo Santo, and there
I found many beautiful fragments of antiquity, that is to say, marble
sarcophagi. In other parts of Pisa also I saw many antique objects,
which I diligently studied whenever I had days or hours free from
the labour of the workshop. My master, who took pleasure in com-
ing to visit me in the little room which he had allotted me, observing
that I spent all my time in studious occupations, began to love me
like a father. I made great progress in the one year that I stayed
there, and completed several fine and valuable things in gold and
silver, which inspired me with a resolute ambition to advance in my
art.
My father, in the meanwhile, kept writing piteous entreaties that
I should return to him; and in every letter bade me not to lose the
music he had taught me with such trouble. On this, I suddenly gave
up all wish to go back to him; so much did I hate that accursed
music; and I felt as though of a truth I were in paradise the whole
year I stayed at Pisa, where I never played the flute.
At the end of the year my master Ulivieri had occasion to go to
Florence, in order to sell certain gold and silver sweepings which he
had; 1T and inasmuch as the bad air of Pisa had given me a touch of
fever, I went with the fever hanging still about me, in my master's
company, back to Florence. There my father received him most
[18]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELUNI
affectionately, and lovingly prayed him, unknown by me, not to
insist on taking me again to Pisa. I was ill about two months, during
which time my father had me most kindly treated and cured, always
repeating that it seemed to him a thousand years till I got well again,
in order that he might hear me play a little. But when he talked to
me of music, with his fingers on my pulse, seeing he had some
acquaintance with medicine and Latin learning, he felt it change so
much if he approached that topic, that he was often dismayed and
left my side in tears. When I perceived how greatly he was disap-
pointed, I bade one of my sisters bring me a flute; for though the
fever never left me, that instrument is so easy that it did not hurt me
to play upon it; and I used it with such dexterity of hand and tongue
that my father, coming suddenly upon me, blessed me a thousand
times, exclaiming that while I was away from him I had made great
progress, as he thought; and he begged me to go forwards, and not
to sacrifice so fine an accomplishment.
XII
WHEN i HAD RECOVERED my health, I returned to my old friend
Marcone, the worthy goldsmith, who put me in the way of earning
money, with which I helped my father and our household. About
that time there came to Florence a sculptor named Piero Torrigiani; 18
he arrived from England, where he had resided many years; and
being intimate with my master, he daily visited his house; and when
he saw my drawings and the things which I was making, he said: "I
have come to Florence to enlist as many young men as I can; for
I have undertaken to execute a great work for my king, and want
some of my own Florentines to help me. Now your method of
working and your designs are worthy rather of a sculptor than a
goldsmith; and since I have to turn out a great piece of bronze, I
will at the same time turn you into a rich and able artist." This man
had a splendid person and a most arrogant spirit, with the air of a
great soldier more than of a sculptor, especially in regard to his
vehement gestures and his resonant voice, together with a habit he
had of knitting his brows, enough to frighten any man of courage.
He kept talking every day about his gallant feats among those beasts
of Englishmen.
In course of conversation he happened to mention Michel Agnolo
[19]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Buonarroti, led thereto by a drawing I had made from a cartoon
of that divinest painter. 10 This cartoon was the first masterpiece
which Michel Agnolo exhibited, in proof of his stupendous talents.
He produced it in competition with another painter, Lionardo da
Vinci, who also made a cartoon; and both were intended for the
council-hall in the palace of the Signory. They represented the
taking of Pisa by the Florentines; and our admirable Lionardo had
chosen to depict a battle of horses, with the capture of some stand-
ards, in as divine a style as could possibly be imagined. Michel
Agnolo in his cartoon portrayed a number of foot-soldiers, who,
the season being summer, had gone to bathe in Arno. He drew them
at the very moment the alarm is sounded, and the men all naked
run to arms; so splendid in their action that nothing survives of
ancient or of modern art which touches the same lofty point of
excellence; and as I have already said, the design of the great Lio-
nardo was itself most admirably beautiful. These two cartoons stood,
one in the palace of the Medici, the other in the hall of the Pope. So
long as they remained intact, they were the school of the world.
Though the divine Michel Agnolo in later life finished that great
chapel of Pope Julius, 20 he never rose half-way to the same pitch
of power; his genius never afterwards attained to the force of those
first studies.
[20]
XIII
Now LET us RETURN to Piero Torrigiani, who, with my drawing
in his hand, spoke as follows: "This Buonarroti and I used, when we
were boys, to go into the Church of the Carmine, to learn drawing
from the chapel of Masaccio. 21 It was Buonarroti's habit to banter
all who were drawing there; and one day, among others, when he
was annoying me, I got more angry than usual, and clenching my
fist, gave him such a blow on the nose, that I felt bone and cartilage
go down like biscuit beneath my knuckles; and this mark of mine
he will carry with him to the grave." 22 These words begat in me
such hatred of the man, since I was always gazing at the masterpieces
of the divine Michel Agnolo, that although I felt a wish to go with
him to England, I now could never bear the sight of him.
All the while I was at Florence, I studied the noble manner of
Michel Agnolo, and from this I have never deviated. About that
time I contracted a close and familiar friendship with an amiable
lad of my own age, who was also in the goldsmith's trade. He was
called Francesco, son of Filippo, and grandson of Fra Lippo Lippi,
that most excellent painter. 28 Through intercourse together, such
love grew up between us that, day or night, we never stayed apart.
The house where he lived was still full of the fine studies which
his father had made, bound up in several books of drawings by his
[21]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
hand, and taken from the best antiquities of Rome. The sight of
these things filled me with passionate enthusiasm; and for two years
or thereabouts we lived in intimacy. At that time I fashioned a
silver bas-relief of the size of a little child's hand. It was intended
for the clasp to a man's belt; for they were then worn as large as
that. I carved on it a knot of leaves in the antique style, with figures
of children and other masks of great beauty. This piece I made in
the workshop of one Francesco Salimbene; and on its being exhibited
to the trade, the goldsmiths praised me as the best young craftsman
of their art.
There was one Giovan Battista, surnamed II Tasso, a wood-
carver, precisely of my own age, who one day said to me that if I
was willing to go to Rome, he should be glad to join me. 24 Now we
had this conversation together immediately after dinner; and I being
angry with my father for the same old reason of the music, said
to Tasso: "You are a fellow of words, not deeds." He answered: "I
too have come to anger with my mother; and if I had cash enough
to take me to Rome, I would not turn back to lock the door of
that wretched little workshop I call mine." To these words I replied
that if that was all that kept him in Florence I had money enough
in my pockets to bring us both to Rome. Talking thus and walking
onwards, we found ourselves at the gate San Piero Gattolini with-
out noticing that we had got there; whereupon I said: "Friend Tasso,
this is God's doing that we have reached this gate without either
you or me noticing that we were there; and now that I am here,
it seems to me that I have finished half the journey." And so, being
of one accord, we pursued our way together, saying, "Oh, what
will our old folks say this evening?" We then made an agreement
not to think more about them till we reached Rome. So we tied our
aprons behind our backs, and trudged almost in silence to Siena.
When we arrived at Siena, Tasso said (for he had hurt his feet)
that he would not go farther, and asked me to lend him money
to get back. I made answer: "I should not have enough left to go
forward; you ought indeed to have thought of this on leaving
Florence; and if it is because of your feet that you shirk the journey,
we will find a return horse for Rome, which will deprive you of
die excuse." Accordingly I hired a horse; and seeing that he did not
answer, I took my way toward the gate of Rome. When he knew
that I was firmly resolved to go, muttering between his teeth, and
limping as well as he could, he came on behind me very slowly and
[22]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
at a great distance. On reaching the gate, I felt pity for my comrade,
and waited for him, and took him on the crupper, saying: "What
would our friends speak of us to-morrow, if, having left for Rome,
we had not pluck to get beyond Siena?" Then the good Tasso said
I spoke the truth; and as he was a pleasant fellow, he began to laugh
and sing; and in this way, always singing and laughing, we travelled
the whole way to Rome. I had just nineteen years then, and so had
the century.
When we reached Rome, I put myself under a master who was
known as II Firenzuola. His name was Giovanni, and he came from
Firenzuola in Lombardy, a most able craftsman in large vases and
big plate of that kind. I showed him part of the model for the clasp
which I had made in Florence at Salimbene's. It pleased him exceed-
ingly; and turning to one of his journeymen, a Florentine called
Giannotto Giannotti, who had been several years with him, he spoke
as follows: "This fellow is one of the Florentines who knows some-
thing, and you are one of those who know nothing." Then I
recognised the man, and turned to speak with him; for before he
went to Rome, we often went to draw together, and had been very
intimate comrades. He was so put out by the words his master flung
at him, that he said he did not recognise me or know who I was;
whereupon I got angry, and cried out: "O Giannotto, you who were
once my friend for have we not been together in such and such
places, and drawn, and ate, and drunk, and slept in company at your
house in the country? I don't want you to bear witness on my be-
half to this worthy man, your master, because I hope my hands
are such that without aid from you they will declare what sort of
a fellow I am."
XIV
WHEN i HAD THUS SPOKEN, Firenzuola, who was a man of hot spirit
and brave, turned to Giannotto, and said to him: u You vile rascal,
aren't you ashamed to treat a man who has been so intimate a com-
rade with you in this way?" And with the same movement of quick
feeling, he faced round and said to me: "Welcome to my workshop;
and do as you have promised; let your hands declare what man
you arc."
He gave me a very fine piece of silver plate to work on for a
cardinal. It was a little oblong box, copied from the porphyry
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
sarcophagus before the door of the Rotonda. Beside what I copied,
I enriched it with so many elegant masks of my invention, that
my master went about showing it through the art, and boasting
that so good a piece of work had been turned out from his shop. 25
It was about half a cubit in size, and was so constructed as to serve
for a salt-cellar at table. This was the first earning that I touched
at Rome, and part of it I sent to assist my good father; the rest I
kept for my own use, living upon it while I went about studying
Ac antiquities of Rome, until my money failed, and I had to return
to the shop for work. Battista del Tasso, my comrade, did not stay
long in Rome, but went back to Florence.
After undertaking some new commissions, I took it into my head,
as soon as I had finished them, to change my master; I had
indeed been worried into doing so by a certain Milanese, called
Pagolo Arsago. 2 * My first master, Firenzuola, had a great quarrel
about this with Arsago, and abused him in my presence; whereupon
I took up speech in defence of my new master. I said that I was
born free, and free I meant to live, and that there was no reason
to complain of him, far less of me, since some few crowns of wages
were still due to me; also that I chose to go, like a free journeyman,
where it pleased me, knowing I did wrong to no man. My new
master then put in with his excuses, saying that he had not asked
me to come, and that I should gratify him by returning with Firen-
zuola. To this I replied that I was not aware of wronging the latter
in any way, and as I had completed his commissions, I chose to be
my own master and not the man of others, and that he who wanted
me must beg me of myself. Firenzuola cried: "I don't intend to
beg you of yourself; I have done with you; don't show yourself
again upon my premises." I reminded him of the money he owed
me. He laughed me in the face; on which I said that if I knew how
to use my tools in handicraft as well as he had seen, I could be
quite as clever with my sword in claiming the just payment of my
labour. While we were exchanging these words, an old man hap-
pened to come up, called Maestro Antonio, of San Marino. He was
the chief among the Roman goldsmiths, and had been Firenzuola's
master. Hearing what I had to say, which I took good care that
he should understand, he immediately espoused my cause, and bade
Firenzuola pay me. The dispute waxed warm, because Firenzuola
was an admirable swordsman, far better than he was a goldsmith.
Yet reason made itself heard; and I backed my cause with the same
[24]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
spirit, till I got myself paid. In course of time Firenzuola and I
became friends, and at his request I stood godfather to one of his
children.
XV
I WENT ON WORKING with Pagolo Arsago, and earned a good deal
of money, the greater part of which I always sent to my good
father. At the end of two years, upon my father's entreaty, I re-
turned to Florence, and put myself once more under Francesco
Salimbene, with whom I earned a great deal, and took continual
pains to improve in my art. I renewed my intimacy with Francesco
di Filippo; and though I was too much given to pleasure, owing to
that accursed music, I never neglected to devote some hours of
the day or night to study. At that time I fashioned a silver heart's-
key (chiavaquore), as it was then called. This was a girdle three
inches broad, which used to be made for brides, and was executed
in half relief with some small figures in the round. It was a com-
mission from a man called Raffaello Lapaccini. I was very badly
paid; but the honour which it brought me was worth far more
than the gain I might have justly made by it. Having at this time
worked with many different persons in Florence, I had come to
know some worthy men among the goldsmiths, as, for instance,
Marcone, my first master; but I also met with others reputed honest,
who did all they could to ruin me, and robbed me grossly. When I
perceived this, I left their company, and held them for thieves and
blackguards. One of the goldsmiths, called Giovanbattista Sogliani,
kindly accommodated me with part of his shop, which stood at
the side of the New Market near the Landi's bank. There I finished
several pretty pieces, and made good gains, and was able to give
my family much help. This aroused the jealousy of the bad men
among my former masters, who were called Salvadore and Michele
Guasconti. In the guild of the goldsmiths they had three big shops,
and drove a thriving trade. On becoming aware of their evil will
against me, I complained to certain worthy fellows, and remarked
that they ought to have been satisfied with the thieveries they
practised on me under the cloak of hypocritical kindness. This
coming to their ears, they threatened to make me sorely repent of
such words; but I, who knew not what the colour of fear was, paid
them little or no heed.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
XVI
IT CHANCED ONE DAY that I was leaning against a shop of one of these
men, who called out to me, and began partly reproaching, partly
bullying. I answered that had they done their duty by me, I should
have spoken of them what one speaks of good and worthy men;
but as they had done the contrary, they ought to complain of
themselves and not of me. While I was standing there and talking,
one of them, named Gherardo Guasconti, their cousin, having
perhaps been put up to it by them, lay in wait till a beast of burden
went by. 27 It was a load of bricks. When the load reached me,
Gherardo pushed it so violently on my body that I was very much
hurt. Turning suddenly round and seeing him laughing, I struck
him such a blow on the temple that he fell down, stunned, like
pne dead. Then I faced round to his cousins, and said: "That's the
way to treat cowardly thieves of your sort"; and when they wanted
to make a move upon me, trusting to their numbers, I, whose blood
was now well up, laid hands to a little knife I had, and cried: "If
one of you comes out of the shop, let the other run for the con-
fessor, because the doctor will have nothing to do here." These
words so frightened them that not one stirred to help their cousin.
As soon as I had gone, the fathers and sons ran to the Eight, and
declared that I had assaulted them in their shops with sword in
hand, a thing which had never yet been seen in Florence. The
magistrates had me summoned. I appeared before them; and they
began to upbraid me and cry out upon me partly, I think, because
they saw me in my cloak, while the others were dressed like citizens
in mantle and hood; 28 but also because my adversaries had been to
the houses of those magistrates, and had talked with all of them in
private, while I, inexperienced in such matters, had not spoken to
any of them, trusting in the goodness of my cause. I said that, having
received such outrage and insult from Gherardo, and in my fury
having only given him a box on the ear, I did not think I deserved
such a vehement reprimand. I had hardly time to finish the word
box, before Prinzivaile deila Sturfa, 29 who was one of the Eight,
interrupted me by saying: "You gave him a blow, and not a box,
on die ear/ 9 The bell was rung and we were all ordered out, when
Prinzivalle spoke thus in my defence to his brother judges: "Mark,
[^6]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
sirs, the simplicity of this poor young man, who has accused him-
self of having given a box on the ear, under the impression that
this is of less importance than a blow; whereas a box on the ear in
the New Market carries a fine of twenty-five crowns, while a
blow costs little or nothing. He is a young man of admirable talents,
and supports his poor family by his labour in great abundance; I
would to God that our city had plenty of this sort, instead of the
present dearth of them."
XVII
AMONG THE MAGISTRATES were some Radical fellows with turned-
up hoods, who had been influenced by the entreaties and the cal-
umnies of my opponents, because they all belonged to the party of
Fra Girolamo; and these men would have had me sent to prison and
punished without too close a reckoning. 80 But the good Prinzivalle
put a stop to that. So they sentenced me to pay four measures of
flour, which were to be given as alms to the nunnery of the
Murate. 81 I was called in again; and he ordered me not to speak a
word under pain of their displeasure, and to perform the sentence
they had passed. Then, after giving me another sharp rebuke, they
sent us to the chancellor; I muttering all the while, "It was a slap and
not a blow," with which we left the Eight bursting with laughter.
The chancellor bound us over upon bail on both sides; but only I
was punished by having to pay the four measures of meal. Albeit
just then I felt as though I had been massacred, I sent for one of
my cousins, called Maestro Annibale, the surgeon, father of Messer
Librodoro Librodori, desiring that he should go to bail for me. 82
He refused to come, which made me so angry, that, fuming with
fury and swelling like an asp, I took a desperate resolve. At this point
one may observe how the stars do not so much sway as force our con-
duct. When I reflected on the great obligations which this Annibale
owed my family, my rage grew to such a pitch that, turning wholly
to evil, tod being also by nature somewhat choleric, I waited till
the magistrates had gone to dinner; and when I was alone, and
observed that none of their officers were watching me, in the fire
of my anger, I left the palace, ran to my shop, seized a dagger,
and rushed to the house of my enemies, who were at home and
shop together. I found them at table; and Gherardo, who had been
the cause of the quarrel, flung himself upon me. I stabbed him in
[27]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the breast, piercing the doublet and jerkin through and through
to the shirt, without however grazing his flesh or doing him the
least harm in the world. When I felt my hand go in, and heard the
clothes tear, I thought that I had killed him; and seeing him fall
terror-struck to earth, I cried: "Traitors, this day is the day on
which I mean to murder you all." Father, mother, and sisters,
thinking the last day had come, threw themselves upon their knees,
screaming out for mercy with all their might; but I perceiving
that they offered no resistance, and that he was stretched for dead
upon the ground, thought it too base a thing to touch them. I ran
storming down the staircase; and when I reached the street, I found
all the rest of the household, more than twelve persons; one of them
had seized an iron shovel, another a thick iron pipe, one had an
anvil, some of them hammers, and some cudgels. When I got among
them, raging like a mad bull, I flung four or five to the earth, and
fell down with them myself, continually aiming my dagger now
at one and now at another. Those who remained upright plied both
hands with all their force, giving it me with hammers, cudgels, and
anvil; but inasmuch as God does sometimes mercifully intervene, He
so ordered that neither they nor I did any harm to one another. I
only lost my cap, on which my adversaries seized, though they had
run away from it before, and struck at it with all their weapons.
Afterwards, they searched among their dead and wounded, and
saw that not a single man was injured.
XVIII
I WENT OFF in the direction of Santa Maria Novella, and stumbling
up against Fra Alessio Strozzi, whom by the way I did not know,
I entreated this good friar for the love of God to save my life, since
I had committed a great fault. He told me to have no fear; for had I
done every sin in the world, I was yet in perfect safety in his little
cell
After an hour, the Eight, in an extraordinary meeting, caused one
of the most dreadful bans which ever were heard to be published
against me, announcing heavy penalties against who should harbour
me or know where I was, without regard to place or to the quality
of my protector. My poor afflicted father went to the Eight, threw
himself upon his knees, and prayed for mercy for his unfortunate
young son. Thereupon one of those Radical fellows, shaking
[28]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the crest of his twisted hood, stood up and addressed my father
with these insulting words: 88 "Get up from there, and begone at
once, for to-morrow we shall send your son into the country with
the lances." 84 My poor father had still the spirit to answer: "What
God shall have ordained, that will you do, and not a jot or tittle
more." Whereto the same man replied that for certain God had
ordained as he had spoken. My father said: "The thought consoles
me that you do not know for certain 1 '; and quitting their presence,
he came to visit me, together with a young man of my own age,
called Piero di Giovanni Landi we loved one another as though
we had been brothers.
Under his mantle the lad carried a first-rate sword and a splendid
coat of mail; and when they found me, my brave father told me
what had happened, and what the magistrates had said to him. Then
he kissed me on the forehead and both eyes, and gave me his hearty
blessing, saying: "May the power and goodness of God be your
protection"; and reaching me the sword and armour, he helped me
with his own hands to put them on. Afterwards he added: "Oh,
my good son, with these arms in thy hand thou shah either live
or die." Pier Landi, who was present, kept shedding tears; and when
he had given me ten golden crowns, I bade him remove a few hairs
from my chin, which were the first down of my manhood. Frate
Alessio disguised me like a friar and gave me a lay brother to go
with me. 85 Quitting the convent, and issuing from the city by the
gate of Prato, I went along the walls as far as the Piazza di San Gallo.
Then I ascended the slope of Montui and in one of the first houses
there I found a man called II Grassuccio, own brother to Messer
Benedetto da Monte Varchi. 86 I flung off my monk's clothes, and
became once more a man. Then we mounted two horses, which were
waiting there for us, and went by night to Siena. Grassuccio re-
turned to Florence, sought out my father, and gave him the news
of my safe escape. In the excess of his joy, it seemed a thousand
years to my father till he should meet that member of the Eight
who had insulted him; and when he came across the man, he said:
"See you, Antonio, that it was God who knew what had to happen
to my son, and not yourself?" To which the fellow answered: "Only
let him get another time into our clutches!" And my father: "I
shall spend my time in thanking God that He has rescued him from
that fate."
[29]
XIX
AT SIENA I waited for the mail to Rome, which I afterwards joined;
and when we passed the Paglia, we met a courier carrying news of
the new Pope, Clement VII. Upon my arrival in Rome, I went to
work in the shop of the master-goldsmith Santi. He was dead; but
a son of his carried on the business. He did not work himself, but
entrusted all his commissions to a young man named Lucagnolo
from lesi, a country fellow, who while yet a child had come into
Sand's service. This man was short but well proportioned, and was a
more skilful craftsman than any one whom I had met with up to that
time; remarkable for facility and excellent in design. He executed
large plate only; that is to say, vases of the utmost beauty, basons,
and such pieces. 17 Having put myself to work there, I began to
make some candelabra for the Bishop of Salamanca, a Spaniard."
They were richly chased, so far as that sort of work admits. A
pupO of Raffaello da Urbino called Gian Francesco, and commonly
known as II Fattore, was a painter of great ability; and being on
terms of friendship with the Bishop, he introduced me to his favour,
so that I obtained many commissions from that prelate, and earned
considerable sums of money."
During that time I went to draw, sometimes in Michel Agnolo's
chapel, and sometimes in the house of Agostino Chigi of Siena,
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
which contained many incomparable paintings by the hand of that
great master Raffaello. 40 This I did on feast-days, because the house
was then inhabited by Messer Gismondo, Agostino's brother. They
plumed themselves exceedingly when they saw young men of my
sort coming to study in their palaces. Gismondo's wife, noticing
my frequent presence in that house she was a lady as courteous
as could be, and of surpassing beauty came up to me one day,
looked at my drawings, and asked me if I was a sculptor or a painter;
to whom I said I was a goldsmith. She remarked that I drew too
well for a goldsmith; and having made one of her waiting-maids
bring a lily of the finest diamonds set in gold, she showed it to me,
and bade me value it. I valued it at 800 crowns. Then she said I
had very nearly hit the mark, and asked me whether I felt capable
of setting the stones really well. I said that I should much like to
do so, and began before her eyes to make a little sketch for it, work-
ing all the better because of the pleasure I took in conversing with
so lovely and agreeable a gentlewoman. When the sketch was
finished, another Roman lady of great beauty joined us; she had
been above, and now descending to the ground-floor, asked Ma-
donna Porzia what she was doing there. She answered with a
smile: "I was amusing myself by watching this worthy young man
at his drawing; he is as good as he is handsome." I had by this time
acquired a trifle of assurance, mixed, however, with some honest
bashfulness; so I blushed and said: "Such as I am, lady, I shall ever
be most ready to serve you." The gentlewoman, also slightly blush-
ing, said: "You know well that I want you to serve me"; and reach-
ing me the lily, told me to take it away; and gave me besides twenty
golden crowns which she had in her bag, and added: "Set me the
jewel after the fashion you have sketched, and keep for me the
old gold in which it is now set." On this the Roman lady observed:
"If I were in that young man's body, I should go off without asking
leave." Madonna Porzia replied that virtues rarely are at home
with vices, and that if I did such a thing, I should strongly belie
my good looks of an honest man. Then turning round, she took
the Roman lady's hand, and with a pleasant smile said: "Farewell,
Benvenuto." I stayed on a short while at the drawing I was making,
which was a copy of a Jove by Raffaello. When I had finished it
and left the house, I set myself to making a little model of wax,
in order to show how the jewel would look when it was completed.
This I took to Madonna Porzia, whom I found with the same Roman
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
lady. Both of them were highly satisfied with my work, and treated
me so kindly that, being somewhat emboldened, I promised the
jewel should be twice as good as the model. Accordingly I set hand
to it, and in twelve days I finished it in the form of a fleur-de-lys,
as I have said above, ornamenting it with little masks, children, and
animals, exquisitely enamelled, whereby the diamonds which formed
the lily were more than doubled in effect.
XX
WHILE I WAS WORKING at this piece, Lucagnolo, of whose ability
I have before spoken, showed considerable discontent, telling me
over and over again that I might acquire far more profit and honour
by helping him to execute large plate, as I had done at first. I made
him answer that, whenever I chose, I should always be capable of
working at great silver pieces; but that things like that on which
I was now engaged were not commissioned every day; and beside
their bringing no less honour than large silver plate, there was also
more profit to be made by them. He laughed me in the face, and
said: "Wait and see, Benvenuto; for by the time that you have fin-
ished that work of yours, I will make haste to have finished this
vase, which I took in hand when you did the jewel; and then
experience shall teach you what profit I shall get from my vase,
and what you will get from your ornament." I answered that I
was very glad indeed to enter into such a competition with so good
a craftsman as he was, because the end would show which of us
was mistaken. Accordingly both the one and the other of us, with
a scornful smile upon our lips, bent our heads in grim earnest to
the work, which both were now desirous of accomplishing; so
that after about ten days, each had finished his undertaking with
great delicacy and artistic skill.
Lucagnolo 's was a huge silver piece, used at the table of Pope
dement, into which he flung away bits of bone and the rind of
divers fruits, while eating; an object of ostentation rather than
necessity. The vase was adorned with two fine handles, together
with many masks, both small and great, and masses of lovely foliage,
in as exquisite a style of elegance as could be imagined; on seeing
which I said it was the most beautiful vase that ever I set eyes on.
Thinking he had convinced me, Lucagnolo replied: "Your work
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
seems to me no less beautiful, but we shall soon perceive the differ-
ence between the two." So he took his vase and carried it to the
Pope, who was very well pleased with it, and ordered at once that
he should be paid at the ordinary rate of such large plate. Meanwhile
I carried mine to Madonna Porzia, who looked at it with astonish*
ment, and told me I had far surpassed my promise. Then she bade
me ask for my reward whatever I liked; for it seemed to her my
desert was so great that if I craved a castle she could hardly recom-
pense me; but since that was not in her hands to bestow, she added
laughing that I must beg what lay within her power. I answered that
the greatest reward I could desire for my labour was to have satisfied
her ladyship. Then smiling in my turn, and bowing to her, I took
my leave, saying I wanted no reward but that. She turned to
the Roman lady and said: "You see that the qualities we discerned
in him arc companied by virtues, and not vices." They both ex-
pressed their admiration, and then Madonna Porzia continued:
"Friend Benvenuto, have you never heard it said that when the poor
give to the rich, the devil laughs?" I replied: "Quite true! and yet, in
the midst of all his troubles, I should like this time to see him laugh";
and as I took my leave, she said that this time she had no will to
bestow on him that favour.
When I came back to the shop, Lucagnolo had the money for his
vase in a paper packet; and on my arrival he cried out: "Come and
compare the price of your jewel with the price of my plate." I
said that he must leave things as they were till the next day, because
I hoped that even as my work in its kind was not less excellent than
his, so I should be able to show him quite an equal price for it.
XXI
ON THE DAY FOLLOWING, Madonna Porzia sent a major-domo of
hers to my shop, who called me out, and putting into my hands a
paper packet full of money from his lady, told me that she did not
choose the devil should have his whole laugh out: by which she
hinted that the money sent me was not the entire payment merited
by my industry, and other messages were added worthy of so
courteous a lady. Lucagnolo, who was burning to compare his
packet with mine, burst into the shop; then in the presence of
twelve journeymen and some neighbours, eager to behold the result
[33]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of this competition, he seized his packet, scornfully exclaiming
"On! ou!" three or four times, while he poured his money on the
counter with a great noise. They were twenty-five crowns in giulios;
and he fancied that mine would be four or five crowns di moneta. 41
1 for my part, stunned and stifled by his cries, and by the looks
and smiles of the bystanders, first peeped into my packet; then,
after seeing that it contained nothing but gold, I retired to one end
of the counter, and, keeping my eyes lowered and making no noise
at all, I lifted it with both hands suddenly above my head, and
emptied it like a mill hopper. 42 My coin was twice as much as his;
which caused the onlookers, who had fixed their eyes on me with
some derision, to turn round suddenly to him and say: "Lucagnolo,
Benvenuto's pieces, being all of gold and twice as many as yours,
make a far finer effect." I thought for certain that, what with
jealousy and what with shame, Lucagnolo would have fallen dead
upon the spot; and though he took the third part of my gain, since
I was a journeyman (for such is the custom of the trade, two-thirds
fall to the workman and one-third to the masters of the shop), yet
inconsiderate envy had more power in him than avarice: it ought
indeed to have worked quite the other way, he being a peasant's
son from lesi. He cursed his art and those who taught it him, vowing
that thenceforth he would never work at large plate, but give his
whole attention to those whoreson gewgaws, since they were so
well paid. Equally enraged on my side, I answered that every bird
sang its own note; that he talked after the fashion of the hovels he
came from; but that I dared to swear that I should succeed with ease
in making his lubberly lumber, while he would never be successful
in my whoreson gewgaws. 48 Thus I flung off in a passion, telling
him that I would soon show him that I spoke truth. The bystanders
openly declared against him, holding him for a lout, as indeed he
was, and me for a man, as I had proved myself.
XXII
NEXT DAT, I went to thank Madonna Porzia, and told her that her
ladyship had done the opposite of what she said she would; for
that while I wanted to make the devil laugh, she had made him once
more deny God. We both laughed pleasantly at this, and she gave
me other commissions for fine and substantial work.
[34]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Meanwhile, I contrived, by means of a pupil of Raffaello da
Urbino, to get an order from the Bishop of Salamanca for one of
those great water-vessels called acquereccia, which are used for
ornaments to place on sideboards. He wanted a pair made of equal
size; and one of them he intrusted to Lucagnolo, the other to me.
Giovan Francesco, the painter I have mentioned, gave us the de-
sign. 44 Accordingly I set hand with marvellous good-will to this
piece of plate, and was accommodated with a part of his workshop
by a Milanese named Maestro Giovan Piero della Tacca. Having
made my preparations, I calculated how much money I should need
for certain affairs of my own, and sent all the rest to assist my poor
father.
It so happened that just when this was being paid to him in
Florence, he stumbled upon one of those Radicals who were in the
Eight at the time when I got into that little trouble there. It was
the very man who had abused him so rudely, and who swore that
I should certainly be sent into the country with the lances. Now
this fellow had some sons of very bad morals and repute; wherefore
my father said to him: "Misfortunes can happen to anybody, espe-
cially to men of choleric humour when they are in the right, even
as it happened to my son; but let the rest of his life bear witness how
virtuously I have brought him up. Would God, for your well-
being, that your sons may act neither worse nor better toward you
than mine do to me. God rendered me able to bring them up as
I have done; and where my own power could not reach, 'twas He
who rescued them, against your expectation, out of your violent
hands." On leaving the man, he wrote me all this story, begging
me for God's sake to practise music at times, in order that I might
not lose the fine accomplishment which he had taught me with such
trouble. The letter so overflowed with expressions of the tenderest
fatherly affection, that I was moved to tears of filial piety, resolving,
before he died, to gratify him amply with regard to music. Thus
God grants us those lawful blessings which we ask in prayer, noth-
ing doubting.
XXIII
WHILE i WAS pushing forward Salamanca's vase, I had one little
boy as help, whom I had taken at the entreaty of friends, and half
against my own will, to be my workman. He was about fourteen
[351
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
years of age, bore the name of Paulino, and was son to a Roman
burgess, who lived upon the income of his property. Paulino was
the best-mannered, the most honest, and the most beautiful boy I
ever saw in my whole life. His modest ways and actions, together
with his superlative beauty and his devotion to myself, bred in me
as great an affection for him as a man's breast can hold. This pas-
sionate love led me oftentimes to delight the lad with music; for
I observed that his marvellous features, which by complexion wore
a tone of modest melancholy, brightened up, and when I took my
cornet, broke into a smile so lovely and so sweet, that I do not
marvel at the silly stories which the Greeks have written about the
deities of heaven. Indeed, if my boy had lived in those times, he
would probably have turned their heads still more. 45 He had a sister
named Faustina, more beautiful, I verily believe, than that Faustina
about whom the old books gossip so. Sometimes he took me to
their vineyard, and, so far as I could judge, it struck me that
Paulino's good father would have welcomed me as a son-in-law.
This affair led me to play more than I was used to do.
It happened at that time that one Giangiacomo of Cesena, musi-
cian in the Pope's band, and a very excellent performer, sent word
through Lorenzo, the trumpeter of Lucca, who is now in our Duke's
service, to inquire whether I was inclined to help them at the Pope's
Ferragosto, playing soprano with my cornet in some motets of
great beauty selected by them for that occasion. 46 Although I had
the greatest desire to finish the vase I had begun, yet, since music
has a wondrous charm of its own, and also because I wished to
please my old father, I consented to join them. During eight
days before the festival we practised two hours a day together;
then on the first of August we went to the Belvedere, and while
Pope Clement was at table, we played those carefully studied motets
so well that his Holiness protested he had never heard music more
sweetly executed or with better harmony of parts. He sent for
Giangiacomo, and asked him where and how he had procured so
excellent a cornet for soprano, and inquired particularly who I
was. Giangiacomo told him my name in full. Whereupon the Pope
said: "So, then, he is the son of Maestro Giovanni?" On being as-
sured I was, the Pope expressed his wish to have me in his service
with the other bandsmen. Giangiacomo replied: "Most blessed
Father, I cannot pretend for certain that you will get him, for his
profession, to which he devotes himself assiduously, is that of a
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
goldsmith, and he works in it miraculously well, and earns by it
far more than he could do by playing." To this the Pope added:
"I am the better inclined to him now that I find him possessor of
a talent more than I expected. See that he obtains the same salary
as the rest of you; and tell him from me to join my service, and that
I will find work enough by the day for him to do in his other
trade." Then stretching out his hand, he gave him a hundred
golden crowns of the Camera in a handkerchief, and said: 47 "Divide
these so that he may take his share."
When Giangiacomo left the Pope, he came to us, and related in de-
tail all that the Pope had said; and after dividing the money between
the eight of us, and giving me my share, he said to me: "Now I am
going to have you inscribed among our company." I replied: "Let
the day pass; to-morrow I will give my answer." When I left them,
I went meditating whether I ought to accept the invitation, inas-
much as I could not but suffer if I abandoned the noble studies of
my art. The following night my father appeared to me in a dream,
and begged me with tears of tenderest affection, for God's love and
his, to enter upon this engagement. Methought I answered that noth-
ing would induce me to do so. In an instant he assumed so horrible
an aspect as to frighten me out of my wits, and cried: "If you do
not, you will have a father's curse; but if you do, may you be ever
blessed by me!" When I woke, I ran, for very fright, to have myself
inscribed. Then I wrote to my old father, telling him the news,
which so affected him with extreme joy that a sudden fit of illness
took him, and well-nigh brought him to death's door. In his answer
to my letter, he told me that he too had dreamed nearly the same
as I had.
XXIV
KNOWING NOW that I had gratified my father's honest wish, I began
to think that everything would prosper with me to a glorious and
honourable end. Accordingly, I set myself with indefatigable in-
dustry to the completion of the vase I had begun for Salamanca.
That prelate was a very extraordinary man, extremely rich, but
difficult to please. He sent daily to learn what I was doing; and when
his messenger did not find me at home, he broke into fury, saying that
he would take the work out of my hands and give it to others to
finish. This came of my slavery to that accursed music. Still I
t37l
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
laboured diligently night and day, until, when I had brought my
work to a point when it could be exhibited, I submitted it to the in*
spection of the Bishop. This so increased his desire td see it finished,
that I was sorry I had shown it. At the end of three months I had
it ready, with little animals and foliage and masks, as beautiful as
one could hope to see. No sooner was it done than I sent it by
the hand of my workman, Paulino, to show that able artist Luca-
gnolo, of whom I have spoken above. Paulino, with the grace and
beauty which belonged to him, spoke as follows: "Messer Luca-
gnolo, Benvenuto bids me say that he has sent to show you his
promises and your lumber, expecting in return to see from you his
gewgaws." This message given, Lucagnolo took up the vase, and
carefully examined it; then he said to Paulino: "Fair boy, tell your
master that he is a great and able artist, and that I beg him to be
willing to have me for a friend, and not to engage in aught else." The
mission of that virtuous and marvellous lad caused me the greatest
joy; and then the vase was carried to Salamanca, who ordered it
to be valued. Lucagnolo took part in the valuation, estimating and
praising it far above my own opinion. Salamanca, lifting up the
vase, cried like a true Spaniard: "I swear by God that I will take as
long in paying him as he has lagged in making it." When I heard this,
I was exceedingly put out, and fell to cursing all Spain and every
one who wished well to it.
Amongst other beautiful ornaments, this vase had a handle, made
all of one piece, with most delicate mechanism, which, when a spring
was touched, stood upright above the mouth of it. While the prel-
ate was one day ostentatiously exhibiting my vase to certain Spanish
gentlemen of his suite, it chanced that one of them, upon Monsignor's
quitting the room, began roughly to work the handle, and as the
gentle spring which moved it could not bear his loutish violence,
it broke in his hand. Aware what mischief he had done, he begged
the butler who had charge of the Bishop's plate to take it to the
master who had made it, for him to mend it, and promised to pay
what price he asked, provided it was set to rights at once. So the
vase came once more into my hands, and I promised to put it forth-
with in order, which indeed I did. It was brought to me before din-
ner; and at twenty-two o'clock the man who brought it returned, all
in a sweat, for he had run the whole way, Monsignor having again
asked for it to show to certain other gentlemen. 4 ' The butler, then,
without giving me time to utter a word, cried: "Quick, quick, bring
[38]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the vase/' I, who wanted to act at leisure and not to give it up to
him, said that I did not mean to be so quick. The serving-man got
into such a rage that he made as though he would put one hand to
his sword, while with the other he threatened to break the shop
open. To this I put a stop at once with my own weapon, using there-
with spirited language, and saying: "I am not going to give it to
you! Go and tell Monsignor, your master, that I want the money
for my work before I let it leave this shop." When the fellow saw
he could not obtain it by swaggering, he fell to praying me, as one
prays to the Cross, declaring that if I would only give it up, he would
take care I should be paid. These words did not make me swerve
from my purpose; but I kept on saying the same thing. At last,
despairing of success, he swore to come with Spaniards enough
to cut me in pieces. Then he took to his heels; while I, who in-
clined to believe partly in their murderous attack, resolved that
I would defend myself with courage. So I got an admirable litde
gun ready, which I used for shooting game, and muttered to my-
self: "He who robs me of my property and labour may take my
life too, and welcome." While I was carrying on this debate in my
own mind, a crowd of Spaniards arrived, led by their major-domo,
who, with the headstrong rashness of his race, bade them go in and
take the vase and give me a good beating. Hearing these words, I
showed them the muzzle of my gun, and prepared to fire, and
cried in a loud voice: "Renegade Jews, traitors, is it thus that one
breaks into houses and shops in our city of Rome? Come as many
of you thieves as like, an inch nearer to this wicket, and I'll blow
all their brains out with my gun." Then I turned the muzzle toward
their major-domo, and making as though I would discharge it, called
out: "And you big thief, who are egging them on, I mean to kill
you first." He clapped spurs to the jennet he was riding, and took
flight headlong. The commotion we were making stirred up all the
neighbours, who came crowding round, together with some Roman
gentlemen who chanced to pass, and cried: "Do but kill the rene-
gades, and we will stand by you." These words had the effect of
frightening the Spaniards in good earnest. They withdrew, and were
compelled by the circumstances to relate the whole affair to Mon-
signor. Being a man of inordinate haughtiness, he rated the members
of his household, both because they had engaged in such an act
of violence, and also because, having begun, they had not gone
[39]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELUNI
through with it. At this juncture the painter, who had been con-
cerned in the whole matter, came in, and the Bishop bade him go
and tell me that if I did not bring the vase at once, he would make
mince-meat of me; 49 but if I brought it, he would pay its price down.
These threats were so far from terrifying me, that I sent him word
I was going immediately to lay my case before the Pope.
In the meantime, his anger and my fear subsided; whereupon,
being guaranteed by some Roman noblemen of high degree that
the prelate would not harm me, and having assurance that I should
be paid, I armed myself with a large poniard and my good coat
of mail, and betook myself to his palace, where he had drawn up
all his household. I entered, and Paulino followed with the silver
vase. It was just like passing through the Zodiac, neither more nor
less; for one of them had the face of the lion, another of the scorpion,
a third of the crab. However, we passed onward to the presence
of the rascally priest, who spouted out a torrent of such language as
only priests and Spaniards have at their command. In return I never
raised my eyes to look at him, nor answered word for word. That
seemed to augment the fury of his anger; and causing paper to be put
before me, he commanded me to write an acknowledgment to the
effect that I had been amply satisfied and paid in full. Then I raised
my head, and said I should be very glad to do so when I had re-
ceived the money. The Bishop's rage continued to rise; threats and
recriminations were flung about; but at last the money was paid,
and I wrote the receipt. Then I departed, glad at heart and in high
spirits.
XXV
WHEN POPE CLEMENT heard the story he had seen the vase before,
but it was not shown him as my work he expressed much pleasure
and spoke warmly in my praise, publicly saying that he felt very
favourably toward me. This caused Monsignor Salamanca to repent
that he had hectored over me; and in order to make up our quarrel,
he sent the same painter to inform me that he meant to give me
large commissions. I replied that I was willing to undertake them,
but that I should require to be paid in advance. This speech too came
to Pope Clement's cars, and made him laugh heartily. Cardinal Qbo
was in the presence, and the Pope narrated to him the whole history
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of my dispute with the Bishop. 50 Then he turned to one of his
people, and ordered him to go on supplying me with work for the
palace. Cardinal Cibo sent for me, and after some time spent in
agreeable conversation, gave me the order for a large vase, bigger
than Salamanca's. I likewise obtained commissions from Cardinal
Cornaro, and many others of the Holy College, especially Ridolfi
and Salviati; they all kept me well employed, so that I earned plenty
of money. 81
Madonna Porzia now advised me to open a shop of my own. This
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
I did; and I never stopped working for that excellent and gentle
lady, who paid me exceedingly well, and by whose means perhaps
it was that I came to make a figure in the world.
I contracted close friendship with Signer Gabriello Ceserino, at
that time Gonfalonier of Rome, and executed many pieces for him.
One, among the rest, is worthy of mention. It was a large golden
medal to wear in the hat. I engraved upon it Leda with her swan;
and being very well pleased with the workmanship, he said he
should like to have it valued, in order that I might be properly paid.
Now, since the medal was executed with consummate skill, the
valuers of the trade set a far higher price on it than he had thought
of. I therefore kept the medal, and got nothing for my pains. The
same sort of adventures happened in this case as in that of Sala-
manca's vase. But I shall pass such matters briefly by, lest they hinder
me from telling things of greater importance.
XXVI
SINCE i AM WRITING MY LIFE, I must from time to time diverge from
my profession in order to describe with brevity, if not in detail, some
incidents which have no bearing on my career as artist* On the
morning of St. John's Day I happened to be dining with several
men of our nation, painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, amongst the most
notable of whom was Rosso and Gianfrancesco, the pupil of Raf-
faello. 52 I had invited them without restraint or ceremony to the
place of our meeting; and they were all laughing and joking, as is
natural when a crowd of men come together to make merry on so
great a festival. It chanced that a light-brained swaggering young
fellow passed by; he was a soldier of Rienzo da Ceri, who, when he
heard die noise that we were making, gave vent to a string of op-
probrious sarcasms upon the folk of Florence." I, who was the host
of those great artists and men of worth, taking the insult to myself,
slipped out quietly without being observed, and went up to him. I
ought to say that he had a punk of his there, and was going on with
his stupid ribaldries to amuse her. When I met him, I asked if he
was the rash fellow who was speaking evil of the Florentines. He
answered at once: "I am that man." On this I raised my hand, struck
him in the face, and said: "And I am this man." Then we each of us
drew our sword with spirit; but the fray had hardly begun when
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a crowd of persons intervened, who rather took my part than not,
hearing and seeing that I was in the right.
On the following day a challenge to fight with him was brought
me, which I accepted very gladly, saying that I expected to com-
plete this job far quicker than those of the other art I practised. So
I went at once to confer with a fine old man called Bevilacqua, who
was reputed to have been the first sword of Italy, because he had
fought more than twenty serious duels and had always come off
with honour. This excellent man was a great friend of mine; he
knew me as an artist, and had also been concerned as intermediary
in certain ugly quarrels between me and others. Accordingly, when
he had learned my business, he answered with a smile: "My Ben-
venuto, if you had an affair with Mars, I am sure you would come
out with honour, because through all the years that I have known
you, I have never seen you wrongfully take up a quarrel." So he
consented to be my second, and we repaired with sword in hand
to the appointed place; but no blood was shed, for my opponent
made the matter up, and I came with much credit out of the
affair. 54 I will not add further particulars; for though they would
be very interesting in their own way, I wish to keep both space and
words for my art, which has been my chief inducement to write
as I am doing, and about which I shall have only too much to say.
The spirit of honourable rivalry impelled me to attempt some
other masterpiece, which should equal, or even surpass, the produc-
tions of that able craftsman, Lucagnolo, whom I have mentioned.
Still I did not on this account neglect my own fine art of jewellery;
and so both the one and the other wrought me much profit and
more credit, and in both of them I continued to produce things
of marked originality. There was at that time in Rome a very able
artist of Perugia named Lautizio, who worked only in one de-
partment, where he was sole and unrivalled throughout the world. 55
You must know that at Rome every cardinal has a seal, upon which
his title is engraved, and these seals are made just as large as a child's
hand of about twelve years of age; and, as I have already said, the
cardinal's tide is engraved upon die seal together with a great many
ornamental figures. A well-made article of the kind fetches a hun-
dred, or more than a hundred crowns. This excellent workman,
like Lucagnolo, roused in me some honest rivalry, although the art
he practised is far remote from the other branches of goldsmithery,
and consequently Lautizio was not skilled in making anything but
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seals. I gave my mind to acquiring his craft also, although I found
it very difficult; and, unrepelled by the trouble which it gave me,
I went on zealously upon the path of profit and improvement.
There was in Rome another most excellent craftsman of ability,
who was a Milanese named Messer Caradosso. 06 He dealt in nothing
but chiselled medals, made of plates of metal, and such-like things.
I have seen of his some paxes in half relief, and some Christs a palm
in length wrought of the thinnest golden plates, so exquisitely done
that I esteemed him the greatest master in that kind I had ever seen,
and envied him more than all the rest together. There were also
other masters who worked at medals carved in steel, which may be
called the models and true guides for those who aim at striking coins
in the most perfect style. All these divers arts I set myself with un-
flagging industry to learn.
I must not omit the exquisite art of enamelling, in which I have
never known any one excel save a Florentine, our countryman, called
Amerigo. 07 I did not know him, but was well acquainted with his
incomparable masterpieces. Nothing in any part of the world or
by any craftsman that I have seen, approached the divine beauty of
their workmanship. To this branch too I devoted myself with all
my strength, although it is extremely difficult, chiefly because of
the fire, which, after long time and trouble spent in other processes,
has to be applied at last, and not unfrequendy brings the whole to
ruin. In spite of its great difficulties, it gave me so much pleasure
that I looked upon them as recreation; and this came from the special
gift which the God of nature bestowed on me, that is to say, a
temperament so happy and of such excellent parts that I was freely
able to accomplish whatever it pleased me to take in hand. The
various departments of art which I have described are very different
one from the other, so that a man who excels in one of them, if he
undertakes the others, hardly ever achieves the same success; whereas
I strove with all my power to become equally versed in all of them:
and in the proper place I shall demonstrate that I attained my object.
XXVII
AT THAT TIME, while I was still a young man of about twenty-three,
there raged a plague of such extraordinary violence that many thou-
sands died of it every day in Rome. Somewhat terrified at this
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calamity, I began to take certain amusements, as my mind suggested,
and for a reason which I will presently relate. I had formed a habit
of going on feast-days to the ancient buildings, and copying parts
of them in wax or with the pencil; and since these buildings are
all ruins, and the ruins house innumerable pigeons, it came into my
head to use my gun against these birds. So then, avoiding all com-
merce with people, in my terror of the plague, I used to put a fowl-
ing-piece on my boy Pagolino's shoulder, and he and I went out
alone into the ruins; and oftentimes we came home laden with a
cargo of the fattest pigeons. I did not care to charge my gun with
more than a single ball; and thus it was by pure skill in the art that
I filled such heavy bags. I had a fowling-piece which I had made
myself; inside and out it was as bright as any mirror. I also used to
make a very fine sort of powder, in doing which I discovered secret
processes, beyond any which have yet been found; and on this
point, in order to be brief, I will give but one particular, which will
astonish good shots of every degree. This is, that when I charged
my gun with powder weighing one-fifth of the ball, it carried two
hundred paces point-blank. It is true that the great delight I took
in this exercise bid fair to withdraw me from my art and studies;
yet in another way it gave me more than it deprived me of, seeing
that each time I went out shooting I returned with greatly better
health, because the open air was a benefit to my constitution. My
natural temperament was melancholy, and while I was taking these
amusements, my heart leapt up with joy, and I found that I could
work better and with far greater mastery than when I spent my
whole time in study and manual labour. In this way my gun at the
end of the game, stood me more in profit than in loss.
It was also the cause of my making acquaintance with certain
hunters after curiosities, who followed in the track 88 of those Lom-
bard peasants who used to come to Rome to till the vineyards at the
proper season. While digging the ground, they frequently turned
up antique medals, agates, chrysoprases, cornelians, and cameos; also
sometimes jewels, as, for instance, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and
rubies. The peasants used to sell things of this sort to the traders
for a mere trifle; and I very often, when I met them, paid the
latter several times as many golden crowns as they had given giulios
for some object. Independently of the profit I made by this traffic,
which was at least tenfold, it brought me also into agreeable rela-
tions with nearly all the cardinals of Rome. I will only touch upon
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a few of the most notable and rarest of these curiosities. There
came into my hands, among many other fragments, the head of
a dolphin about as big as a good-sized ballot-bean. Not only was
the style of this head extremely beautiful, but nature had here far
surpassed art; for the stone was an emerald of such good colour,
that the man who bought it from me for tens of crowns sold it
again for hundreds after setting it as a finger-ring. I will mention
another kind of gem; this was a magnificent topaz; and here art
equalled nature; it was as large as a big hazel-nut, with the head of
Minerva in a style of inconceivable beauty. I remember yet an-
other precious stone, different from these; it was a cameo, engraved
with Hercules binding Cerberus of the triple throat; such was its
beauty and the skill of its workmanship, that our great Michel Agnolo
protested he had never seen anything so wonderful. Among many
bronze medals, I obtained one upon which was a head of Jupiter.
It was the largest that had ever been seen; the head of the most
perfect execution; and it had on the reverse side a very fine design
of some little figures in the same style. I might enlarge at great
length on this curiosity; but I will refrain for fear of being prolix.
XXVIII
As i HAVE SAID ABOVE, the plague had broken out in Rome; but though
I must return a little way upon my steps, I shall not therefore aban-
don the main path of my history. There arrived in Rome a surgeon
of the highest renown, who was called Maestro Giacomo da Carpi. 5 *
This able man, in the course of his other practice, undertook the
most desperate cases of the so-called French disease. In Rome this
kind of illness is very partial to the priests, and especially to the
richest of them. When, therefore, Maestro Giacomo had made his
talents known, he professed to work miracles in the treatment of
such cases by means of certain fumigations; but he only under-
took a cure after stipulating for his fees, which he reckoned not
by tens, but by hundreds of crowns. He was a great connoisseur in
the arts of design. Chancing to pass one day before my shop, he
saw a lot of drawings which I had laid upon the counter, and among
these were several designs for little vases in a capricious style, which
I had sketched for my amusement. These vases were in quite a dif-
ferent fashion from any which had been seen up to that date. He
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was anxious that I should finish one or two of them for him in
silver; and this I did with the fullest satisfaction, seeing they exactly
suited my own fancy. The clever surgeon paid me very well, and
yet the honour which the vases brought me was worth a hundred
times as much; for the best craftsmen in the goldsmith's trade de-
clared they had never seen anything more beautiful or better
executed
No sooner had I finished them than he showed them to the Pope;
and the next day following he betook himself away from Rome. He
was a man of much learning, who used to discourse wonderfully
about medicine. The Pope would fain have had him in his service,
but he replied that he would not take service with anybody in the
world, and that whoso had need of him might come to seek him
out. He was a person of great sagacity, and did wisely to get out
of Rome; for not many months afterwards, all the patients he
had treated grew so ill that they were a hundred times worse off
than before he came. He would certainly have been murdered if
he had stopped. He showed my little vases to several persons of
quality; amongst others, to the most excellent Duke of Ferrara, and
pretended that he had got them from a great lord in Rome, by tell-
ing this nobleman that if he wanted to be cured, he must give him
those two vases; and that the lord had answered that they were
antique, and besought him to ask for anything else which it might
be convenient for him to give, provided only he would leave him
those; but, according to his own account, Maestro Giacomo made as
though he would not undertake the cure, and so he got them.
I was told this by Messer Alberto Bendedio in Ferrara, who with
great ostentation showed me some earthenware copies he possessed
of them. 00 Thereupon I laughed, and as I said nothing, Messer Al-
berto Bendedio, who was a haughty man, flew into a rage and said:
"You are laughing at them, are you? And I tell you that during
the last thousand years there has not been born a man capable of
so much as copying them." I then, not caring to deprive them of
so eminent a reputation, kept silence, and admired them with mute
stupefaction. It was said to me in Rome by many great lords, some
of whom were my friends, that the work of which I have been
speaking was, in their opinion, of marvellous excellence and genuine
antiquity; whereupon, emboldened by their praises, I revealed that
I had made them. As they would not believe it, and as I wished to
prove that I had spoken truth, I was obliged to bring evidence and
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to make new drawings of the vases; for my word alone was not
enough, inasmuch as Maestro Giacomo had cunningly insisted upon
carrying off the old drawings with him. By this little job I earned
a fair amount of money.
XXIX
THE PLAGUE went dragging on for many months, but I had as yet
managed to keep it at bay; for though several of my comrades
were dead, I survived in health and freedom. Now it chanced one
evening that an intimate comrade of mine brought home to supper
a Bolognese prostitute named Faustina. She was a very fine woman,
but about thirty years of age; and she had with her a little serving-
girl of thirteen or fourteen. Faustina belonging to my friend, I
would not have touched her for all the gold in the world; and
though she declared she was madly in love with me, I remained
steadfast in my loyalty. But after they had gone to bed, I stole
away the little serving-girl, who was quite a fresh maid, and woe
to her if her mistress had known of it! The result was that I enjoyed
a very pleasant night, far more to my satisfaction than if I had
passed it with Faustina. I rose upon the hour of breaking fast, and
felt tired, for I had travelled many miles that night, and was want-
ing to take food, when a crushing headache seized me; several
boils appeared on my left arm, together with a carbuncle which
showed itself just beyond the palm of the left hand where it joins
the wrist. Everybody in the house was in a panic; my friend, the
cow and the calf, all fled. Left alone there with my poor little
prentice, who refused to abandon me, I felt stifled at the heart, and
made up my mind for certain I was a dead man.
Just then the father of the lad went by, who was physician to
the Cardinal lacoacci, 01 and lived as member of that prelate's house-
hold. 62 The boy called out: "Come, father, and see Benvenuto; he
is in bed with some trifling indisposition." Without thinking what
my complaint might be, the doctor came up at once, and when he
had felt my pulse, he saw and felt what was very contrary to his
own wishes. Turning round to his son, he said: "O traitor of a child,
you've ruined me; how can I venture now into the Cardinal's
presence?" His son made answer: "Why, father, this man my master
is worth far more than all the cardinals in Rome." Then the doctor
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turned to me and said: "Since I am here, I will consent to treat you.
But of one thing only I warn you, that if you have enjoyed a
woman, you are doomed." To this I replied: "I did so this very
night." He answered: "With whom, and to what extent?" 88 I
said: "Last night, and with a girl in her earliest maturity." Upon this,
perceiving that he had spoken foolishly, he made haste to add: "Well,
considering the sores are so new, and have not yet begun to stink,
and that the remedies will be taken in time, you need not be too
much afraid, for I have good hopes of curing you." When he had
prescribed for me and gone away, a very dear friend of mine,
called Giovanni Rigogli, came in, who fell to commiserating my
great suffering and also my desertion by my comrade, and said: "Be
of good cheer, my Benvenuto, for I will never leave your side until
I see you restored to health." I told him not to come too close, since
it was all over with me. Only I besought him to be so kind as to
take a considerable quantity of crowns, which were lying in a little
box near my bed, and when God had thought fit to remove me from
this world, to send them to my poor father, writing pleasantly to
him, in the way I too had done, so far as that appalling season of
the plague permitted. 64 My beloved friend declared that he had no
intention whatsoever of leaving me, and that come what might, in life
or death, he knew very well what was his duty toward a friend. And
so we went on by the help of God: and the admirable remedies which
I had used began to work a great improvement, and I soon came well
out of that dreadful sickness.
The sore was still open, with a plug of lint inside it and a plaster
above, when I went out riding on a little wild pony. He was covered
with hair four fingers long, and was exactly as big as a well-grown
bear; indeed he looked just like a bear. I rode out on him to visit the
painter Rosso, who was then living in the country, toward Civiti
Vccchia, at a place of Count Anguillara's, called Cervctera. I found
my friend, and he was very glad to see me; whereupon I said:
"I am come to do to you that which you did to me so many months
ago." He burst out laughing, embraced and kissed me, and begged
me for the Count's sake to keep quiet. I stayed in that place about a
month, with much content and gladness, enjoying good wines and
excellent food, and treated with die greatest kindness by the Count;
every day I used to ride out alone along the seashore, where I dis-
mounted, and filled my pockets with all sorts of pebbles, snail shells,
and sea shells of great rarity and beauty.
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On the last day (for after this I went there no more) I was at-
tacked by a band of men, who had disguised themselves, and dis-
embarked from a Moorish privateer. When they thought that they
had run me into a certain passage, where it seemed impossible that
I should escape from their hands, I suddenly mounted my pony,
resolved to be roasted or boiled alive at that pass perilous, seeing
I had little hopes to evade one or the other of these fates; 65 but, as
God willed, my pony, who was the same I have described above,
took an incredibly wide jump, and brought me off in safety, for
which I heartily thanked God. I told the story to the Count; he
ran to arms; but we saw the galleys setting out to sea. The next
day following I went back sound and with good cheer to Rome.
XXX
THE PLAGUE had by this time almost died out, so that the survivors,
when they met together alive, rejoiced with much delight in one
another's company. This led to the formation of a club of painters,
sculptors, and goldsmiths, the best that were in Rome; and the
founder of it was a sculptor with the name of Michel Agnolo. 66
He was a Sienese and a man of great ability, who could hold his
own against any other workman in that art; but, above all, he was
the most amusing comrade and the heartiest good fellow in the
universe. Of all the members of the club, he was the eldest, and
yet the youngest from the strength and vigour of his body. We
often came together; at the very least twice a week. I must not omit
to mention that our society counted Giulio Romano, the painter,
and Gian Francesco, both of them celebrated pupils of the mighty
Raffaello da Urbino.
After many and many merry meetings, it seemed good to our
worthy president that for the following Sunday we should repair
to supper in his house, and that each one of us should be obliged
to bring with him his crow (such was the nickname Michel Agnolo
gave to women in the club), and that whoso did not bring one
should be sconced by paying a supper to the whole company. Those
of us who had no familiarity with women of the town, were forced
to purvey themselves at no small trouble and expense, in order to
appear without disgrace at that distinguished feast of artists. I had
reckoned upon being well provided with a young woman of con-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
siderable beauty, called Pantasilea, who was very much in love
with me; but I was obliged to give her up to one of my dearest
friends, called II Bachiacca, who on his side had been, and still
was, over head and ears in love with her. er This exchange excited a
certain amount of lover's anger, because the lady, seeing I had
abandoned her at Bachiacca 's first entreaty, imagined that I held in
slight esteem the great affection which she bore me. In course of
time a very serious accident grew out of this misunderstanding,
through her desire to take revenge for the affront I had put upon
her; whereof I shall speak hereafter in the proper place.
Well, then, the hour was drawing nigh when we had to present
ourselves before that company of men of genius, each with his
own crow; and I was still unprovided; and yet I thought it would
be stupid to fail of such a madcap bagatelle; 68 but what particularly
weighed upon my mind was that I did not choose to lend the
light of my countenance in that illustrious sphere to some miserable
plume-plucked scarecrow. All these considerations made me devise
a pleasant trick, for the increase of merriment and the diffusion of
mirth in our society.
Having taken this resolve, I sent for a stripling of sixteen years,
who lived in the next house to mine; he was the son of a Spanish
coppersmith. This young man gave his time to Latin studies, and
was very diligent in their pursuit. He bore the name of Diego, had a
handsome figure, and a complexion of marvellous brilliancy; the
outlines of his head and face were far more beautiful than those of
the antique Antinous: I had often copied them, gaining thereby
much honour from the works in which I used them. The youth had
no acquaintances, and was therefore quite unknown; dressed very
ill and negligently; all his affections being set upon those wonderful
studies of his. After bringing him to my house, I begged him to let
me array him in the woman's clothes which I had caused to be laid
out. He readily complied, and put them on at once, while I added new
beauties to the beauty of his face by the elaborate and studied way in
which I dressed his hair. In his ears I placed two little rings, set with
two large and fair pearls; the rings were broken; they only clipped his
cars, which looked as though they had been pierced. Afterwards I
wreathed his throat with chains of gold and rich jewels, and orna-
mented his fair hands with rings. Then I took him in a pleasant
manner by one ear, and drew him before a great looking-glass. The
lac!, when he beheld himself, cried out with a burst of enthusiasm:
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"Heavens! is that Diego?" I said: "That is Diego, from whom until
this day I never asked for any kind of favour; but now I only
beseech Diego to do me pleasure in one harmless thing; and it is
this I want him to come in those very clothes to supper with the
company of artists whereof he has often heard me speak." The
young man, who was honest, virtuous, and wise, checked his enthu-
siasm, bent his eyes to the ground, and stood for a short while in
silence. Then with a sudden move he lifted up his face and said:
"With Benvenuto I will go; now let us start."
I wrapped his head in a large kind of napkin, which is called
in Rome a summer-cloth; and when we reached the place of meet-
ing, the company had already assembled, and everybody came
forward to greet me. Michel Agnolo had placed himself between
Giulio and Giovan Francesco. I lifted the veil from the head of my
beauty; and then Michel Agnolo, who, as I have already said, was
the most humorous and amusing fellow in the world, laid his two
hands, the one on Giulio's and the other on Gian Francesco's
shoulders, and pulling them with all his force, made them bow
down, while he, on his knees upon the floor, cried out for mercy,
and called to all the folk in words like these: "Behold ye of what
sort are the angels of paradise! for though they are called angels,
here shall ye see that they are not all of the male gender." Then
with a loud voice he added:
"Angel beauteous, angel best,
Save me thou, make thou me blest."
Upon this my charming creature laughed, and lifted the right hand
and gave him a papal benediction, with many pleasant words to
boot. So Michel Agnolo stood up, and said it was the custom to
kiss the feet of the Pope and the cheeks of angels; and having done
the latter to Diego, the boy blushed deeply, which immensely en-
hanced his beauty.
When this reception was over, we found the whole room full
of sonnets, which every man of us had made and sent to Michel
Agnolo. My lad began to read them, and read them all aloud so
gracefully, that his infinite charms were heightened beyond the
powers of language to describe. Then followed conversation and
witty sayings, on which I will not enlarge, for that is not my busi-
ness; only one clever word must be mentioned, for it was spoken by
that admirable painter Giulio, who, looking round with meaning* 9
t53l
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in his eyes on the bystanders, and fixing them particularly upon the
women, turned to Michel Agnolo and said: "My dear Michel
Agnolo, your nickname of crow very well suits those ladies to-day,
though I vow they are somewhat less fair than crows by the side
of one of the most lovely peacocks which fancy could have painted."
When the banquet was served and ready, and we were going to
sit down to table, Giulio asked leave to be allowed to place us. This
being granted, he took the women by the hand, and arranged them
all upon the inner side, with my fair in the centre; then he placed
all the men on the outside and me in the middle, saying there was
no honour too great for my deserts. As a background to the women,
there was spread an espalier of natural jasmines in full beauty, 70
which set off their charms, and especially Diego's, to such great ad-
vantage, that words would fail to describe the effect. Then we all
of us fell to enjoying the abundance of our host's well-furnished
table. The supper was followed by a short concert of delightful
music, voices joining in harmony with instruments; and forasmuch
as they were singing and playing from the book, my beauty begged
to be allowed to sing his part He performed the music better than
almost all the rest, which so astonished the company that Giulio and
Michel Agnolo dropped their earlier tone of banter, exchanging it
for well-weighed terms of sober heartfelt admiration.
After the music was over, a certain Aurelio Ascolano, 71 remark-
able for his gift as an improvisatory poet, began to extol the women
in choice phrases of exquisite compliment. While he was chanting,
die two girls who had my beauty between them never left off
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chattering. One of them related how she had gone wrong; the other
asked mine how it had happened with her, and who were her
friends, and how long she had been settled in Rome, and many other
questions of the kind. It is true that, if I chose to describe such
laughable episodes, I could relate several odd things which then
occurred through Pantasilea's jealousy on my account; but since
they form no part of my design, I pass them briefly over. At last
the conversation of those loose women vexed my beauty, whom we
had christened Pomona for the nonce; and Pomona, wanting to
escape from their silly talk, turned restlessly upon her chair, first to
one side and then to the other. The female brought by Giulio asked
whether she felt indisposed. Pomona answered, yes, she thought
she was a month or so with child; this gave them the opportunity
of feeling her body and discovering the real sex of the supposed
woman. Thereupon they quickly withdrew their hands and rose
from table, uttering such gibing words as are commonly addressed
to young men of eminent beauty. The whole room rang with
laughter and astonishment, in the midst of which Michel Agnolo,
assuming a fierce aspect, called out for leave to inflict on me the
penance he thought fit. When this was granted, he lifted me aloft
amid the clamour of the company, crying: "Long live the gentle-
man! long live the gentleman!" and added that this was the punish-
ment I deserved for having played so fine a trick. Thus ended that
most agreeable supper-party, and each of us returned to his own
dwelling at the close of the day.
XXXI
IT WOULD TAKE too long to describe in detail all the many and divers
pieces of work which I executed for a great variety of men. At
present I need only say that I devoted myself with sustained diligence
and industry to acquiring mastery in the several branches of art
which I enumerated a short while back. And so I went on labouring
incessantly at all of them; but since no opportunity has presented
itself as yet for describing my most notable performances, I shall
wait to report them in their proper place before very long. The
Sienese sculptor, Michel Agnolo, of whom I have recently been
speaking, was at that time making the monument of the late Pope
Adrian. Giulio Romano went to paint for the Marquis of Mantua.
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The other members of the club betook themselves in different direc-
tions, each to his own business; so that our company of artists was
well-nigh altogether broken up.
About this time there fell into my hands some little Turkish
poniards; the handle as well as the blade of these daggers was made
of iron, and so too was the sheath. They were engraved by means of
iron implements with foliage in the most exquisite Turkish style,
very neatly filled in with gold. The sight of them stirred in me a
great desire to try my own skill in that branch, so different from the
others which I practised; and finding that I succeeded to my satisfac-
tion, I executed several pieces. Mine were far more beautiful and
more durable than the Turkish, and this for divers reasons. One was
that I cut my grooves much deeper and with wider trenches in the
steel; for this is not usual in Turkish work. Another was that the
Turkish arabesques are only composed of arum leaves with a few
small sunflowers; 72 and though these have a certain grace, they do
not yield so lasting a pleasure as the patterns which we use. It is
true that in Italy we have several different ways of designing foliage;
the Lombards, for example, construct very beautiful patterns by
copying the leaves of briony and ivy in exquisite curves, which are
extremely agreeable to the eye; the Tuscans and the Romans make
a better choice, because they imitate the leaves of the acanthus, com-
monly called bear's-f oot, with its stalks and flowers, curling in divers
wavy lines; and into these arabesques one may excellently well insert
the figures of little birds and different animals, by which the good
taste of the artist is displayed. Some hints for creatures of this sort
can be observed in nature among the wild flowers, as, for instance,
in snapdragons and some few other plants, which must be combined
and developed with the help of fanciful imaginings by clever
draughtsmen. Such arabesques are called grotesques by the ignorant.
They have obtained this name of grotesques among the moderns
through being found in certain subterranean caverns in Rome by
students of antiquity; which caverns were formerly chambers, hot-
baths, cabinets for study, halls, and apartments of like nature. The
curious discovering them in such places (since the level of the
ground has gradually been raised while they have remained below,
and since in Rome these vaulted rooms are commonly called grottoes),
it has followed that the word grotesque is applied to the patterns
I have mentioned. But this is not the right term for them, inasmuch
as the ancients, who delighted in composing monsters out of goats,
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cows, and horses, called these chimerical hybrids by the name of
monsters; and the modern artificers of whom I spoke, fashioned
from the foliage which they copied monsters of like nature; for
these the proper name is therefore monsters, and not grotesques.
Well, then, I designed patterns of this kind, and filled them in with
gold, as I have mentioned; and they were far more pleasing to the
eye than the Turkish.
It chanced at that time that I lighted upon some jars or little
antique urns filled with ashes, and among the ashes were some iron
rings inlaid with gold (for the ancients also used that art), and in
each of the rings was set a tiny cameo of shell. On applying to men
of learning, they told me that these rings were worn as amulets by
folk desirous of abiding with mind unshaken in any extraordinary
circumstance, whether of good or evil fortune. Hereupon, at the
request of certain noblemen who were my friends, I undertook to
fabricate some trifling rings of this kind; but I made them of refined
steel; and after they had been well engraved and inlaid with gold,
they produced a very beautiful effect; and sometimes a single ring
brought me more than forty crowns, merely in payment for my
labour.
It was the custom at that epoch to wear little golden medals, upon
which every nobleman or man of quality had some device or fancy
of his own engraved; and these were worn in the cap. Of such pieces
I made very many, and found them extremely difficult to work.
I have already mentioned the admirable craftsman Caradosso, who
used to make such ornaments; and as there were more than one
figure on each piece, he asked at least a hundred gold crowns for
his fee. This being so not, however, because his prices were so
high, but because he worked so slowly I began to be employed by
certain noblemen, for whom, among other things, I made a medal
in competition with that great artist, and it had four figures, upon
which I had expended an infinity of labour. These men of quality,
when they compared my piece with that of the famous Caradosso,
declared that mine was by far the better executed and more beauti-
ful, and bade me ask what I liked as the reward of my trouble; for
since I had given them such perfect satisfaction, they wished to do
the like by me. I replied that my greatest reward and what I most
desired was to have rivalled the masterpieces of so eminent an artist;
and that if their lordships thought I had, I acknowledged myself to
be most amply rewarded. With this I took my leave, and they im-
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mediately sent me such a very liberal present, that I was well con-
tent; indeed there grew in me so great a spirit to do well, that to this
event I attribute what will afterwards be related of my progress.
XXXII
I SHALL BE OBLIGED to digress a little from the history of my art,
unless I were to omit some annoying incidents which have happened
in the course of my troubled career. One of these, which I am about
to describe, brought me into the greatest risk of my life. I have al-
ready told the story of the artists' club, and of the farcical adven-
tures which happened owing to the woman whom I mentioned,
Pantasilea, the one who felt for me that false and fulsome love. She
was furiously enraged because of the pleasant trick by which I
brought Diego to our banquet, and she swore to be revenged on me.
How she did so is mixed up with the history of a young man called
Luigi Pulci, who had recently come to Rome. He was the son of
one of the Pulcis, who had been beheaded for incest with his
daughter; and the youth possessed extraordinary gifts for poetry
together with sound Latin scholarship; he wrote well, was graceful
in manners, and of surprising personal beauty; he had just left the
service of some bishop, whose name I do not remember, and was
thoroughly tainted with a very foul disease. While he was yet a lad
and living in Florence, they used in certain places of the city to
meet together during the nights of summer on the public streets;
and he, ranking among the best of the improvisator!, sang there. His
recitations were so admirable, that the divine Michel Agnolo Buo-
narroti, that prince of sculptors and of painters, went, wherever he
heard that he would be, with the greatest eagerness and delight to
listen to him. There was a man called Piloto, a goldsmith, very able
in his art, who, together with myself, joined Buonarroti upon these
occasions. 78 Thus acquaintance sprang up between me and Luigi
Pulci; and so, after the lapse of many years, he came, in the miser-
able plight which I have mentioned, to make himself known to me
again in Rome, beseeching me for God's sake to help him. Moved
to compassion by his great talents, by the love of my fatherland,
and by my own natural tenderness of heart, I took him into my
house, and had him medically treated in such wise that, being but
a youth, he soon regained his health. While he was still pursuing his
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cure, he never omitted his studies, and I provided him with books
according to the means at my disposal. The result was that Luigi,
recognising the great benefits he had received from me, oftentimes
with words and tears returned me thanks, protesting that if God
should ever put good fortune in his way, he would recompense me
for my kindness. To this I replied that I had not done for him as
much as I desired, but only what I could, and that it was the duty of
human beings to be mutually serviceable. Only I suggested that he
should repay the service I had rendered him by doing likewise to
some one who might have the same need of him as he had had of me.
The young man in question began to frequent the Court of Rome,
where he soon found a situation, and enrolled himself in the suite
of a bishop, a man of eighty years, who bore the title of Gur-
gensis. 74 This bishop had a nephew called Messer Giovanni: he was
a nobleman of Venice; and the said Messer Giovanni made show of
marvellous attachment to Luigi Pulci's talents; and under the pre-
tence of these talents, he brought him as familiar to himself as his
own flesh and blood. Luigi having talked of me, and of his great
obligations to me, with Messer Giovanni, the latter expressed a
wish to make my acquaintance. Thus then it came to pass, that
when I had upon a certain evening invited that woman Pantasilea
to supper, and had assembled a company of men of parts who were
my friends, just at the moment of our sitting down to table, Messer
Giovanni and Luigi Pulci arrived, and after some complimentary
speeches, they both remained to sup with us. The shameless strumpet,
casting her eyes upon the young man's beauty, began at once to lay
her nets for him; perceiving which, when the supper had come to
an agreeable end, I took Luigi aside, and conjured him, by the
benefits he said he owed me, to have nothing whatever to do with
her. To this he answered: "Good heavens, Benvenuto! do you then
take me for a madman?" I rejoined: "Not for a madman, but for
a young fellow"; and I swore to him by God: "I do not give that
woman the least thought; but for your sake I should be sorry if
through her you came to break your neck." Upon these words he
vowed and prayed to God, that, if ever he but spoke with her, he
might upon the moment break his neck. I think the poor lad swore
this oath to God with all his heart, for he did break his neck, as I
shall presently relate. Messer Giovanni showed signs too evident of
loving him in a dishonourable way; for we began to notice that
Luigi had new suits of silk and velvet every morning, and it was
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known that he abandoned himself altogether to bad courses. He
neglected his fine talents, and pretended not to see or recognise me,
because I had once rebuked him, and told him he was giving his
soul to foul vices, which would make him break his neck, as he had
vowed.
XXXIII
Now MESSER GIOVANNI bought his favourite a very fine black horse,
for which he paid 150 crowns. The beast was admirably trained to
hand, so that Luigi could go daily to caracole around the lodgings
of that prostitute Pantasilea. Though I took notice of this, I paid
it no attention, only remarking that all things acted as their nature
prompted; and meanwhile I gave my whole mind to my studies.
It came to pass one Sunday evening that we were invited to sup
together with the Sienese sculptor, Michel Agnolo, and the time of
the year was summer. Bachiacca, of whom I have already spoken,
was present at the party; and he had brought with him his old flame,
Pantasilea. When we \vere at table, she sat between me and Bachi-
acca; but in the very middle of the banquet she rose, and excused
herself upon the pretext of a natural need, saying she would speedily
return. We, meanwhile, continued talking very agreeably and sup-
ping; but she remained an unaccountably long time absent. It
chanced that, keeping my ears open, I thought I heard a sort of
subdued tittering in the street below. I had a knife in hand, which
I was using for my service at the table. The window was so close
to where I sat, that, by merely rising, I could see Luigi in the street,
together with Pantasilea; and I heard Luigi saying: "Oh, if that
devil Benvenuto only saw us, shouldn't we just catch it!" She
answered: "Have no fear; only listen to the noise they're making;
we are the last thing they're thinking of." At these words, having
made them both well out, I leaped from the window, and took
Luigi by the cape; and certainly I should then have killed him with
the knife I held, but that he was riding a white horse, to which
he clapped spurs, leaving his cape in my grasp, in order to preserve
his life. Pantasilea took to her heels in the direction of a neighbour-
ing church. The company at supper rose immediately, and came
down, entreating me in a body to refrain from putting myself and
them to inconvenience for a strumpet. I told them that I should not
have let myself be moved on her account, but that I was bent on
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punishing the infamous young man, who showed how little he
regarded me. Accordingly I would not yield to the remonstrances
of those ingenious and worthy men, but took my sword, and went
alone toward Prati: the house where we were supping, I should say,
stood close to the Castello gate, which led to Prati." Walking thus
upon the road to Prati, I had not gone far before the sun sank, and
I re-entered Rome itself at a slow pace. Night had fallen; darkness
had come on; but the gates of Rome were not yet shut.
Toward two hours after sunset, I walked along Pantasilea's lodg-
ing, with the intention, if Luigi Pulci were there, of doing something
to the discontent of both. When I heard and saw no one but a poor
servant-girl called Canida was in the house, I went to put away my
cloak and the scabbard of my sword, and then returned to the
house, which stood behind the Banchi on the river Tiber. Just
opposite stretched a garden belonging to an innkeeper called
Romolo. It was enclosed by a thick hedge of thorns, in which I hid
myself, standing upright, and waiting till the woman came back
with Luigi. After keeping watch awhile there, my friend Bachiacca
crept up to me; whether led by his own suspicions or by the advice
of others, I cannot say. In a low voice he called out to me: "Gossip**
(for so we used to name ourselves for fun) ; and then he prayed me
for God's love, using the words which follow, with tears in the
tone of his voice: "Dear gossip, I entreat you not to injure that poor
girl; she at least has erred in no wise in this matter no, not at all.'*
When I heard what he was saying, I replied: "If you don't take
yourself off now, at this first word I utter, I will bring my sword
here down upon your head." Overwhelmed with fright, my poor
gossip was suddenly taken ill with the colic, and withdrew to ease
himself apart; indeed, he could not but obey the call There was a
glorious heaven of stars, which shed good light to see by. All of
a sudden I was aware of the noise of many horses; they were com-
ing toward me from the one side and the other. It turned out to be
Luigi and Pantasilea, attended by a certain Messer Benvegnato of
Perugia, who was chamberlain to Pope Clement, and followed by
four doughty captains of Perugia, with some other valiant soldiers
in the flower of youth; altogether reckoned, there were more
than twelve swords. When I understood the matter, and saw not
how to fly, I did my best to crouch into the hedge. But the thorns
pricked and hurt me, goading me to madness like a bull; and I had
half resolved to take a leap and hazard my escape. Just then Luigi*
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with his arm round Pantasilea's neck, was heard crying: "I must
kiss you once again, if only to insult that traitor Benvenuto." At
that moment, annoyed as I was by the prickles, and irritated by the
young man's words, I sprang forth, lifted my sword on high, and
shouted at the top of my voice: "You are all dead folk!" My blow
descended on the shoulder of Luigi; but the satyrs who doted on
him, had steeled his person round with coats of mail and such-like
villainous defences; still the stroke fell with crushing force. Swerv-
ing aside, the sword hit Pantasilca full in nose and mouth. Both she
and Luigi grovelled on the ground, while Bachiacca, with breeches
down to heels, screamed out and ran away. Then I turned upon
the others boldly with my sword; and those valiant fellows, hearing
a sudden commotion in the tavern, thought there was an army
coming of a hundred men; and though they drew their swords
with spirit, yet two horses which had taken fright in the tumult
cast them into such disorder that a couple of the best riders were
thrown, and the remainder took to flight. I, seeing that the affair
was turning out well for me, ran as quickly as I could, and came off
with honour from the engagement, not wishing to tempt fortune
more than was my duty. During this hurly-burly, some of the
soldiers and captains wounded themselves with their own arms; and
Messer Benvegnato, the Pope's chamberlain, was kicked and
trampled by his mule. One of the servants also, who had drawn his
sword, fell down together with his master, and wounded him badly
in the hand. Maddened by the pain, he swore louder than all the
rest in his Pemgian jargon, crying out: "By the body of God, I
will take care that Benvegnato teaches Benvenuto how to live." He
afterwards commissioned one of the captains who were with him
(braver perhaps than the others but with less aplomb, as being but
a youth) to seek me out. The fellow came to visit me in the place
of my retirement; that was the palace of a great Neapolitan noble-
man, who had become acquainted with me in my art, and had be-
sides taken a fancy to me because of my physical and mental apti-
tude for fighting, to which my lord himself was personally well
inclined. So, thai, finding myself made much of, and being precisely
in my element, I gave such answer to the captain as I think must
have made him earnestly repent of having come to look me up.
After a few days, when the wounds of Luigi, and the strumpet, and
the rest were healing, this great Neapolitan nobleman received over-
tures from Messer Benvegnato; for the prelate's anger had cooled,
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and he proposed to ratify a peace between me and Luigi and the
soldiers, who had personally no quarrel with me, and only wished
to make my acquaintance. Accordingly my friend the nobleman
replied that he would bring me where they chose to appoint, and
that he was very willing to effect a reconciliation. He stipulated
that no words should be bandied about on either side, seeing that
would be little to their credit; it was enough to go through the form
of drinking together and exchanging kisses; he for his part under-
took to do the talking, and promised to settle the matter to their
honour. This arrangement was carried out. On Thursday evening
my protector took me to the house of Messer Benvegnato, where
all the soldiers who had been present at that discomfiture were
assembled, and already seated at table. My nobleman was attended
by thirty brave fellows, all well armed; a circumstance which
Messer Benvegnato had not anticipated. When we came into the
hall, he walking first, I following, he spake to this effect: "God save
you, gentlemen; we have come to see you, I and Benvenuto, whom
I love like my own brother; and we are ready to do whatever you
propose.** Messer Benvegnato, seeing the hall fill with such a crowd
of men, called out: "It is only peace, and nothing else, we ask of
you." Accordingly he promised that the governor of Rome and
his catchpoles should give me no trouble. Then we made peace,
and I returned to my shop, where I could not stay an hour without
that Neapolitan nobleman either coming to see me or sending for
me.
Meanwhile Luigi Pulci, having recovered from his wound, rode
every day upon the black horse which was so well trained to heel
and bridle. One day, among others, after it had rained a little, and
he was making his horse curvet just before Pantasilea's door, he
slipped and fell, with the horse upon him. His right leg was broken
short off in the thigh; and after a few days he died there in Panta-
silea's lodgings, discharging thus the vow he registered so heartily
to Heaven. Even so may it be seen that God keeps account of the
good and the bad, and gives to each one what he merits.
XXXIV
THE WHOLE WORLD was now in warfare. 76 Pope Clement had sent
to get some troops from Giovanni de 1 Medici, and when they came,
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they made such disturbances in Rome, that it was ill living in open
shops/ 7 On this account I retired to a good snug house behind the
Banchi, where I worked for all the friends I had acquired. Since
I produced few things of much importance at that period, I need
not waste time in talking about them. I took much pleasure in music
and amusements of the kind. On the death of Giovanni de' Medici
in Lombardy, the Pope, at the advice of Messer Jacopo Salviati,
dismissed the five bands he had engaged; and when the Constable of
Bourbon knew there were no troops in Rome, he pushed his army
with the utmost energy up to the city. The whole of Rome upon
this flew to arms. I happened to be intimate with Alessandro, the
son of Piero del Bene, who, at the time when the Colonnesi entered
Rome, had requested me to guard his palace. 78 On this more serious
occasion, therefore, he prayed me to enlist fifty comrades for the
protection of the said house, appointing me their captain, as I had
been when the Colonnesi came. So I collected fifty young men of
the highest courage, and we took up our quarters in his palace, with
good pay and excellent appointments.
Bourbon's army had now arrived before the walls of Rome, and
Alessandro begged me to go with him to reconnoitre. So we went
with one of the stoutest fellows in our company; and on the way
a youth called Cecchino della Casa joined himself to us. On reaching
the walls by the Campo Santo, we could see that famous army, which
was making every effort to enter the town. Upon the ramparts
where we took our station, several young men were lying killed
by the besiegers; the battle raged there desperately, and there was
the densest fog imaginable. I turned to Alessandro and said: "Let
us go home as soon as we can, for there is nothing to be done here;
you see the enemies are mounting, and our men are in flight." Ales-
sandro, in a panic, cried: "Would God that we had never come
here!" and turned in maddest haste to fly. I took him up somewhat
sharply with these words: "Since you have brought me here, I must
perform some action worthy of a man"; and directing my arquebusc
where I saw the thickest and most serried troop of fighting men,
I aimed exactly at one whom I remarked to be higher than the
rest: the fog prevented me from being certain whether he was on
horseback or on foot. Then I turned to Alessandro and Cecchino,
and bade them discharge their arquebuses, showing them how to
avoid being hit by the besiegers. When we had fired two rounds
apiece, I crept cautiously up to the wall, and observing among the
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enemy a most extraordinary confusion, I discovered afterwards that
one of our shots had killed the Constable of Bourbon; and from
what I subsequently learned, he was the man whom I had first
noticed above the heads of the rest. 7 *
Quitting our position on the ramparts, we crossed the Campo
Santo, and entered the city of St. Peter's; then coming out exactly
at the church of Santo Agnolo, we got with the greatest difficulty
to the great gate of the castle; for the generals Renzo di Ceri and
Orazio Baglioni were wounding and slaughtering everybody who
abandoned the defence of the walls. 80 By the time we had reached
the great gate, part of the foemen had already entered Rome, and
we had them in our rear. The castellan had ordered the portcullis
to be lowered, in order to do which they cleared a little space, and
this enabled us four to get inside. On the instant that I entered, the
captain Pallone de' Medici claimed me as being of the Papal house-
hold, and forced me to abandon Alessandro, which I had to do,
much against my will. I ascended to the keep, and at the same
instant Pope Clement came in through the corridors into the castle;
he had refused to leave the palace of St. Peter earlier, being unable
to believe that his enemies would effect their entrance into Rome, 81
Having got into the castle in this way, I attached myself to certain
pieces of artillery, which were under the command of a bombardier
called Giuliano Fiorentino. Leaning there against the battlements,
the unhappy man could see his poor house being sacked, and his
wife and children outraged; fearing to strike his own folk, he dared
not discharge the cannon, and flinging the burning fuse upon the
ground, he wept as though his heart would break, and tore his
cheeks with both his hands. 82 Some of the other bombardiers were
behaving in like manner; seeing which, I took one of the matches,
and got the assistance of a few men who were not overcome by their
emotions. I aimed some swivels and falconets at points where I saw
it would be useful, and killed with them a good number of the
enemy. Had it not been for this, the troops who poured into Rome
that morning, and were marching straight upon the castle, might
possibly have entered it with ease, because the artillery was doing
them no damage. I went on firing under the eyes of several cardinals
and lords, who kept blessing me and giving me the heartiest encour-
agement. In my enthusiasm I strove to achieve the impossible; let
it suffice that it was I who saved the castle that morning, and brought
the other bombardiers back to their duty. 88 I worked hard the
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whole of that day; and when the evening came, while the army
was marching into Rome through the Trastevere, Pope Clement
appointed a great Roman nobleman named Antonio Santacroce to
be captain of all the gunners. The first thing this man did was to
come to me, and having greeted me with the utmost kindness, he
stationed me with five fine pieces of artillery on the highest point
of the castle, to which the name of the Angel specially belongs.
This circular eminence goes round the castle, and surveys both
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Prati and the town of Rome. The captain put under my orders
enough men to help in managing my guns, and having seen me paid
in advance, he gave me rations of bread and a little wine, and begged
me to go forward as I had begun. I was perhaps more inclined by
nature to the profession of arms than to the one I had adopted,
and I took such pleasure in its duties that I discharged them better
than those of my own art. Night came, the enemy had entered
Rome, and we who were in the castle (especially myself, who have
always taken pleasure in extraordinary sights) stayed gazing on the
indescribable scene of tumult and conflagration in the streets below.
People who were anywhere else but where we were, could not have
formed the least imagination of what it was. I will not, however,
set myself to describe that tragedy, but will content myself with
continuing the history of my own life and the circumstances which
properly belong to it.
XXXV
DURING THE COURSE of my artillery practice, which I never inter-
mitted through the whole month passed by us beleaguered in the
castle, I met with a great many very striking accidents, all of them
worthy to be related. But since I do not care to be too prolix, or to
exhibit myself outside the sphere of my profession, I will omit the
larger part of them, only touching upon those I cannot well neglect,
which shall be the fewest in number and the most remarkable. The
first which comes to hand is this: Messer Antonio Santacroce had
made me come down from the Angel, in order to fire on some houses
in the neighbourhood, where certain of our besiegers had been seen
to enter. While I was firing, a cannon shot reached me, which hit
the angle of a battlement, and carried off enough of it to be the
cause why I sustained no injury. The whole mass struck me in the
chest and took my breath away. I lay stretched upon the ground
like a dead man, and could hear what the bystanders were saying.
Among them all, Messer Antonio Santacroce lamented greatly, ex-
claiming: "Alas, alas! we have lost the best defender that we had."
Attracted by the uproar, one of my comrades ran up; he was called
Gianfrancesco, and was a bandsman, but was far more naturally
given to medicine than to music. On the spot he flew off, crying for
a stoop of the very best Greek wine. Then he made a tile red-
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hot, and cast upon it a good handful of wormwood; after which
he sprinkled the Greek wine; and when the wormwood was well
soaked, he laid it on my breast, just where the bruise was visible to
all. Such was the virtue of the wormwood that I immediately re-
gained my scattered faculties. I wanted to begin to speak, but could
not; for some stupid soldiers had filled my mouth with earth, imag-
ining that by so doing they were giving me the sacrament; and in-
deed they were more like to have excommunicated me, since I could
with difficulty come to myself again, the earth doing me more mis-
chief than the blow. However, I escaped that danger, and returned
to the rage and fury of the guns, pursuing my work there with all
the ability and eagerness that I could summon.
Pope Clement, by this, had sent to demand assistance from the
Duke of Urbino, who was with the troops of Venice; he com-
missioned the envoy to tell his Excellency that the Castle of St.
Angelo would send up every evening three beacons from its summit,
accompanied by three discharges of the cannon thrice repeated, and
that so long as this signal was continued, he might take for granted
that the castle had not yielded. I was charged with lighting the
beacons and firing the guns for this purpose; and all this while I
pointed my artillery by day upon the places where mischief could
be done. The Pope, in consequence, began to regard me with still
greater favour, because he saw that I discharged my functions as
intelligently as the task demanded. Aid from the Duke of Urbino
never came; on which, as it is not my business, I will make no
further comment. 84
XXXVI
WHILE i WAS AT WORK upon that diabolical task of mine, there came
from time to time to watch me some of the cardinals who were in-
vested in the castle; and most frequently the Cardinal of Ravenna
and the Cardinal de' Gaddi. 86 1 often told them not to show them-
selves, since their nasty red caps gave a fair mark to our enemies.
From neighbouring buildings, such as the Torre de' Bini, we ran
great peril when they were there; and at last I had them locked
off, and gained thereby their deep ill-will. I frequently received
visits also from the general, Orazio Baglioni, who was very well
affected toward me. One day while he was talking with me, he
noticed something going forward in a drinking-place outside the
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Porta di Castello, which bore the name of Baccancllo. This tavern
had for a sign a sun painted between two windows, of a bright red
colour. The windows being closed, Signer Orazio concluded that
a band of soldiers were carousing at table just between them and
behind the sun. So he said to me: "Benvenuto, if you think that you
could hit that wall an ell's breadth from the sun with your demi-
cannon here, I believe you would be doing a good stroke of business,
for there is a great commotion there, and men of much importance
must probably be inside the house." I answered that I felt quite
capable of hitting the sun in its centre, but that a barrel full of
stones, which was standing close to the muzzle of the gun, might
be knocked down by the shock of the discharge and the blast of the
artillery. He rejoined: "Don't waste time, Benvenuto. In the first
place, it is not possible, where it is standing, that the cannon's blast
should bring it down; and even if it were to fall, and the Pope him-
self was underneath, the mischief would not be so great as you
imagine. Fire, then, only fire!" Taking no more thought about it,
I struck the sun in the centre, exactly as I said I should. The cask
was dislodged, as I predicted, and fell precisely between Cardinal
Farnese and Messer Jacopo Salviati. 86 It might very well have dashed
out the brains of both of them, except that just at that very moment
Farnese was reproaching Salviati with having caused the sack of
Rome, and while they stood apart from one another to exchange
opprobrious remarks, my gabion fell without destroying them.
When he heard the uproar in the court below, good Signor Orazio
dashed off in a hurry; and I, thrusting my neck forward where
the cask had fallen, heard some people saying: "It would not be a
bad job to kill that gunner!" Upon this I turned two falconets
toward the staircase, with mind resolved to let blaze on the first
man who attempted to come up. The household of Cardinal Farnese
must have received orders to go and do me some injury; accordingly
I prepared to receive them, with a lighted match in hand. Recognis-
ing some who were approaching, I called out: "You lazy lubbers,
if you don't pack off from there, and if but a man's child among
you dares to touch the staircase, I have got two cannon loaded,
which will blow you into powder. Go and tell the Cardinal that I
was acting at the order of superior officers, and that what we have
done and are doing is in defence of them priests, 81 and not to hurt
them." They made away; and then came Signor Orazio Baglioni,
running. I bade him stand back, else I'd murder him; for I knew vcrjr
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
well who he was. He drew back a little, not without a certain show
of fear, and called out: "Benvenuto, I am your friend!" To this I
answered: "Sir, come up, but come alone, and then come as you
like." The general, who was a man of mighty pride, stood still a
moment, and then said angrily: "I have a good mind not to come
up again, and to do quite the opposite of that which I intended
toward you." I replied that just as I was put there to defend my
neighbours, I was equally well able to defend myself too. He said
that he was coming alone; and when he arrived at the top of the
stairs, his features were more discomposed than I thought reason-
able. So I kept my hand upon my sword, and stood eyeing him
askance. Upon this he began to laugh, and the colour coming back
into his face, he said to me with the most pleasant manner: "Friend
Benvenuto, I bear you as great love as I have it in my heart to give;
and in God's good time I will render you proof of this. Would
to God that you had killed those two rascals; for one of them is
the cause of all this trouble, and the day perchance will come when
the other will be found the cause of something even worse." He
then begged me, if I should be asked, not to say that he was with me
when I fired the gun; and for the rest bade me be of good cheer.
The commotion which the affair made was enormous, and lasted a
long while. However, I will not enlarge upon it further, only adding
that I was within an inch of revenging my father on Messer Jacopo
Salviati, who had grievously injured him, according to my father's
frequent complaints. As it was, unwittingly I gave the fellow a great
fright. Of Farnese I shall say nothing here, because it will appear
in its proper place how well it would have been if I had killed him.
XXXVII
I PURSUED my business of artilleryman, and every day performed
some extraordinary feat, whereby the credit and the favour I
acquired with the Pope was something indescribable. There never
passed a day but what I killed one or another of our enemies in
the besieging army. On one occasion the Pope was walking round
the circular keep, 88 when he observed a Spanish Colonel in the Prati;
he recognised the man by certain indications, seeing that this officer
had formerly been in his service; and while he fixed his eyes on
him* be kept talking about him. I, above by the Angel, knew nothing
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of all this, but spied a fellow down there, busying himself about the
trenches with a javelin in his hand; he was dressed entirely in rose*
colour; and so, studying the worst that I could do against him,
I selected a gerfalcon which I had at hand; it is a piece of ordnance
larger and longer than a swivel, and about the size of a demi-culverin.
This I emptied, and loaded it again with a good charge of fine
powder mixed with the coarser sort; then I aimed it exactly at the
man in red, elevating prodigiously, because a piece of that calibre
could hardly be expected to carry true at such a distance. I fired,
and hit my man exactly in the middle. He had trussed his sword
in front, 89 for swagger, after a way those Spaniards have; and my
ball, when it struck him, broke upon the blade, and one could see
the fellow cut in two fair halves. The Pope, who was expecting
nothing of this kind, derived great pleasure and amazement from
the sight, both because it seemed to him impossible that one should
aim and hit the mark at such a distance, and also because the man
was cut in two, and he could not comprehend how this should
happen. He sent for me, and asked about it. I explained all the
devices I had used in firing; but told him that why the man was
cut in halves, neither he nor I could know. Upon my bended
knees I then besought him to give me the pardon of his blessing
for that homicide; and for all the others I had committed in the
castle in the service of the Church. Thereat the Pope, raising his
hand, and making a large open sign of the cross upon my face, told
me that he blessed me, and that he gave me pardon for all murders
I had ever perpetrated, or should ever perpetrate, in the service of
the Apostolic Church. When I left him, I went aloft, and never
stayed from firing to the utmost of my power; and few were the
shots of mine that missed their mark. My drawing, and my fine
studies in my craft, and my charming art of music, all were swal-
lowed up in the din of that artillery; and if I were to relate in detail
all the splendid things I did in that infernal work of cruelty, I
should make the world stand by and wonder. But, not to be too
prolix, I will pass them over. Only I must tell a few of the most
remarkable, which are, as it were, forced in upon me.
To begin then: pondering day and night what I could render for
my own part in defence of Holy Church, and having noticed that
the enemy changed guard and marched past through the great
gate of Santo Spirito, which was within a reasonable range, I there-
upon directed my attention to that spot; but, having to shoot side-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
ways, I could not do the damage that I wished, although I killed a
fair percentage every day. This induced our adversaries, when they
saw their passage covered by my guns, to load the roof of a certain
house one night with thirty gabions, which obstructed the view I
formerly enjoyed. Taking better thought than I had done of the
whole situation, I now turned all my five pieces of artillery directly
on the gabions, and waited till the evening hour, when they changed
guard. Our enemies, thinking they were safe, came on at greater
ease and in a closer body than usual; whereupon I set fire to my
blow-pipes. 90 Not merely did I dash to pieces the gabions which
stood in my way; but, what was better, by that one blast I slaugh-
tered more than thirty men. In consequence of this manoeuvre, which
I repeated twice, the soldiers were thrown into such disorder, that
being, moreover, encumbered with the spoils of that great sack,
and some of them desirous of enjoying the fruits of their labour,
they oftentimes showed a mind to mutiny and take themselves away
from Rome. However, after coming to terms with their valiant
captain, Gian di Urbino, 91 they were ultimately compelled, at their
excessive inconvenience, to take another road when they changed
guard. It cost them three miles of march, whereas before they had
but half a mile. Having achieved this feat, I was entreated with
prodigious favours by all the men of quality who were invested
in the castle. This incident was so important that I thought it well
to relate it, before finishing the history of things outside my art,
the which is the real object of my writing: forsooth, if I wanted
to ornament my biography with such matters, I should have far
too much to tell. There is only one more circumstance which, now
that the occasion offers, I propose to record.
XXXVIII
I SHALL SKIP OVER some intervening circumstances, and tell how
Pope dement, wishing to save the tiaras and the whole collection
of the great jewels of the Apostolic Camera, had me called, and
shut himself up together with me and the Cavalierino in a room
alone. 92 This Cavalierino had been a groom in the stable of Filippo
Strozzi; he was French, and a person of the lowest birth; but being
a most faithful servant, the Pope had made him very rich, and
confided in him like himself. So die Pope, the Cavaliere, and I, being
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
shut up together, they laid before me the tiaras and jewels of die
regalia; and his Holiness ordered me to take all the gems out of their
gold settings. This I accordingly did; afterwards I wrapt them
separately up in bits of paper, and we sewed them into the linings
of the Pope's and the Cavaliere's clothes. Then they gave me all
the gold, which weighed about two hundred pounds, and bade me
melt it down as secretly as I was able. I went up to the Angel^
where I had my lodging, and could lock the door so as to be free
from interruption. There I built a little draught-furnace of bricks,
with a largish pot, shaped like an open dish, at the bottom of it;
and throwing the gold upon the coals, it gradually sank through
and dropped into the pan. While the furnace was working, I never
left off watching how to annoy our enemies; and as their trenches
were less than a stone's-throw right below us, I was able to inflict
considerable damage on them with some useless missiles,** of which
there were several piles, forming the old munition of the castle.
I chose a swivel and a falconet, which were both a little damaged in
the muzzle, and filled them with the projectiles I have mentioned.
When I fired my guns, they hurtled down like mad, occasioning
all sorts of unexpected mischief in the trenches. Accordingly I kept
these pieces always going at the same time that the gold was being
melted down; and a little before vespers I noticed some one coming
along the margin of the trench on muleback. The mule was trotting
very quickly, and the man was talking to the soldiers in the trenches.
I took the precaution of discharging my artillery just before he
came immediately opposite; and so, making a good calculation,
I hit my mark. One of the fragments struck him in the face; the
rest were scattered on the mule, which fell dead. A tremendous
uproar rose up from the trench; I opened fire with my other piece,
doing them great hurt. The man turned out to be the Prince of
Orange, who was carried through the trenches to a certain tavern
in the neighbourhood, whither in a short while all the chief folk
of the army came together.
When Pope Clement heard what I had done, he sent at once to
call for me, and inquired into the circumstance. I related the whole,
and added that the man must have been of the greatest consequence,
because the inn to which they carried him had been immediately
filled by all the chiefs of the army, so far at least as I could judge.
The Pope, with a shrewd instinct, sent for Messer Antonio Santa-
croce, the nobleman who, as I have said, was chief and commander
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of the gunners. He bade him order all us bombardiers to point our
pieces, which were very numerous, in one mass upon the house, and
to discharge them all together upon the signal of an arquebuse being
fired. He judged that if we killed the generals, the army, which was
already almost on the point of breaking up, would take to flight.
God perhaps had heard the prayers they kept continually making,
and meant to rid them in this manner of those impious scoundrels.
We put our cannon in order at the command of Santacroce, and
waited for the signal. But when Cardinal Orsini 94 became aware of
what was going forward, he began to expostulate with the Pope,
protesting that the thing by no means ought to happen, seeing they
were on the point of concluding an accommodation, and that if the
generals were killed, the rabble of the troops without a leader would
storm the castle and complete their utter ruin. Consequently they
could by no means allow the Pope's plan to be carried out. The
poor Pope, in despair, seeing himself assassinated both inside the
castle and without, said that he left them to arrange it. On this,
our orders were countermanded; but I, who chafed against the
kash, 05 when I knew that they were coming round to bid me stop
from firing, let blaze one of my demi-cannons, and struck a pillar
in the courtyard of the house, around which I saw a crowd of
people clustering. This shot did such damage to the enemy that it
was like to have made them evacuate the house. Cardinal Orsini was
absolutely for having me hanged or put to death; but the Pope took
up my cause with spirit. The high words that passed between them,
though I well know what they were, I will not here relate, because
I make no profession of writing history. It is enough for me to
occupy myself with my own affairs.
XXXIX
AFTER i HAD melted down the gold, I took it to the Pope, who
thanked me cordially for what I had done, and ordered the Cava-
lierino to give me twenty-five crowns, apologising to me for his
inability to give me more. A few days afterwards the articles of
peace were signed. I went with three hundred comrades in the
train of Signer Orazio Baglioni toward Perugia; and there he wished
to make me captain of the company, but I was unwilling at the
moment, saying that I wanted first to go and see my father, and
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
to redeem the ban which was still in force against me at Florence.
Signer Orazio told me that he had been appointed general of the
Florentines; and Sir Pier Maria del Lotto, the envoy from Florence,
was with him, to whom he specially recommended me as his man. 06
In course of time I came to Florence in the company of several
comrades. The plague was raging with indescribable fury. When I
reached home, I found my good father, who thought either that
I must have been killed in the sack of Rome, or else that I should
come back to him a beggar. However, I entirely defeated both these
expectations; for I was alive, with plenty of money, a fellow to
wait on me, and a good horse. My joy on greeting the old man was
so intense, that, while he embraced and kissed me, I thought that
I must die upon the spot. After I had narrated all the devilries of
that dreadful sack, and had given him a good quantity of crowns
which I had gained by my soldiering, and when we had exchanged
our tokens of affection, he went off to the Eight to redeem my
ban. It so happened that one of those magistrates who sentenced
me, was now again a member of the board. It was the very man
who had so inconsiderately told my father he meant to march
me out into the country with the lances. My father took this op-
portunity of addressing him with some meaning words, in order
to mark his revenge, relying on the favour which Orazio Baglioni
showed me.
Matters standing thus, I told my father how Signer Orazio had
appointed me captain, and that I ought to begin to think of enlisting
my company. At these words the poor old man was greatly dis-
turbed, and begged me for God's sake not to turn my thoughts to
such an enterprise, although he knew I should be fit for this or yet
a greater business, adding that his other son, my brother, was already
a most valiant soldier, and that I ought to pursue the noble art in
which I had laboured so many years and with such diligence of
study. Although I promised to obey him, he reflected, like a man
of sense, that if Signor Orazio came to Florence, I could not with-
draw myself from military service, partly because I had passed my
word, as well as for other reasons. He therefore thought of a
good expedient for sending me away, and spoke to me as follows:
"Oh, my dear son, the plague in this town is raging with immit-
igable violence, and I am always fancying you will come home in-
fected with it. I remember, when I was a young man, that I went to
Mantua, where I was very kindly received, and stayed there several
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
years. I pray and command you, for the love of me, to pack off
and go thither; and I would have you do this to-day rather than
to-morrow."
XL
I HAD ALWAYS taken pleasure in seeing the world; and having never
been in Mantua, I went there very willingly. Of the money I had
brought to Florence, I left the greater part with my good father,
promising to help him wherever I might be, and confiding him to
the care of my elder sister. Her name was Cosa; and since she never
cared to marry, she was admitted as a nun in Santa Orsola; but she
put off taking the veil, in order to keep house for our old father,
and to look after my younger sister, who was married to one
Bartolomrneo, a surgeon. So then, leaving home with my father's
blessing, I mounted my good horse, and rode off on it to Mantua.
It would take too long to describe that little journey in detail.
The whole world being darkened over with plague and war, I
had the greatest difficulty in reaching Mantua. However, in the
end, I got there, and looked about for work to do, which I obtained
from a Maestro Niccolo of Milan, goldsmith to the Duke of Mantua.
Having thus settled down to work, I went after two days to visit
Messer Giulio Romano, that most excellent painter, of whom I have
already spoken, and my very good friend. He received me with
the tenderest caresses, and took it very ill that I had not dismounted
at his house. He was living like a lord, and executing a great work
for the Duke outside the city gates, in a place called Del Te. It
was a vast and prodigious undertaking, as may still, I suppose, be
seen by those who go there. 97
Messer Giulio lost no time in speaking of me to the Duke in
terms of the warmest praise. 98 That Prince commissioned me to
make a model for a reliquary, to hold the blood of Christ, which
they have there, and say was brought them by Longinus. Then he
turned to Giulio, bidding him supply me with a design for it. To
this Giulio replied: "My lord, Benvenuto is a man who does not
need other people's sketches, as your Excellency will be very well
able to judge when you shall see his model." I set hand to the work,
and made a drawing for the reliquary, well adapted to contain the
sacred phial Then I made a little waxen model of the cover. This
was a seated Christ, supporting his great cross aloft with the left
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI*
hand, while he seemed to lean against it, and with the fingers of
his right hand he appeared to be opening the wound in his side.
When it was finished, it pleased the Duke so much that he heaped
favours on me, and gave me to understand that he would keep me
in his service with such appointments as should enable me to live
in affluence.
Meanwhile, I had paid my duty to the Cardinal his brother, who
begged the Duke to allow me to make the pontifical seal of his
most reverend lordship." This I began; but while I was working at
it I caught a quartan fever. During each access of this fever I was
thrown into delirium, when I cursed Mantua and its master and
whoever stayed there at his own liking. These words were reported
to the Duke by the Milanese goldsmith, who had not omitted to
notice that the Duke wanted to employ me. When the Prince heard
the ravings of my sickness, he flew into a passion against me; and
I being out of temper with Mantua, our bad feeling was reciprocal.
The seal was finished after four months, together with several other
little pieces I made for the Duke under the name of the Cardinal.
His Reverence paid me well, and bade me return to Rome, to that
marvellous city where we had made acquaintance.
I quitted Mantua with a good sum of crowns, and reached Go-
verno, where the most valiant general Giovanni had been killed. 100
Here I had a slight relapse of fever, which did not interrupt my
journey, and coming now to an end, it never returned on me again.
When I arrived at Florence, I hoped to find my dear father, and
knocking at the door, a hump-backed woman in a fury showed her
face at the window; she drove me off with a torrent of abuse,
screaming that the sight of me was a consumption to her. To this
misshapen hag I shouted: "Ho! tell me, cross-grained hunchback,
is there no other face to see here but your ugly visage?" "No, and
bad luck to you." Whereto I answered in a loud voice: "In less than
two hours may it 101 never vex us more!" Attracted by this dispute,
a neighbour put her head out, from whom I learned that my father
and all the people in the house had died of the plague. As I had
partly guessed it might be so, my grief was not so great as it would
otherwise have been. The woman afterwards told me that only
my sister Liperata had escaped, and that she had taken refuge with
a pious lady named Mona Andrea de' Bellacci. 102
I took my way from thence to the inn, and met by accident a
very dear friend of mine, Giovanni Rigogli. Dismounting at his
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
house, we proceeded to the piazza, where I received intelligence
that my brother was alive, and went to find him at the house of
a friend of his called Bertino Aldobrandini. On meeting, we made
demonstrations of the most passionate affection; for he had heard
that I was dead, and I had heard that he was dead; and so our joy
at embracing one another was extravagant. Then he broke out into
a loud fit of laughter, and said: "Come, brother, I will take you
where I'm sure you'd never guess! You must know that I have given
our sister Liperata away again in marriage, and she holds it for
absolutely certain that you are dead." On our way we told each
other all the wonderful adventures we had met with; and when
we reached the house where our sister dwelt, the surprise of seeing
me alive threw her into a fainting fit, and she fell senseless in my
arms. Had not my brother been present, her speechlessness and
sudden seizure must have made her husband imagine I was some
one different from a brother as indeed at first it did. Cecchino,
however, explained matters, and busied himself in helping the
swooning woman, who soon came to. Then, after shedding some
tears for father, sister, husband, and a little son whom she had lost,
she began to get the supper ready; and during our merry meeting all
that evening we talked no more about dead folk, but rather dis-
coursed gaily about weddings. Thus, then, with gladness and great
enjoyment we brought our supper-party to an end.
XLI
ON THE ENTREATY of my brother and sister, I remained at Florence,
though my own inclination led me to return to Rome. The dear
friend, also, who had helped me in some of my earlier troubles,
as I have narrated (I mean Piero, son of Giovanni Landi) he too
advised me to make some stay in Florence; for the Medici were
in exile, that is to say, Signer Ippolito and Signer Alessandro, who
were afterwards respectively Cardinal and Duke of Florence; and
he judged it would be well for me to wait and see what happened. 10 *
At that time there arrived in Florence a Sienese, called Girolamo
Marretti, who had lived long in Turkey and was a man of lively
intellect. He came to my shop, and commissioned me to make a
golden medal to be worn in the hat. The subject was to be Hercules
wrenching the lion's mouth. While I was working at this piece,
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Michel Agnolo Buonarroti came oftentimes to see it. I had spent
infinite pains upon the design, so that the attitude of the figure
and the fierce passion of the beast were executed in quite a different
style from that of any craftsman who had hitherto attempted such
groups. This, together with the fact that the special branch of
art was totally unknown to Michel Agnolo, made the divine master
give such praises to my work that I felt incredibly inspired for
further effort. However, I found little else to do but jewel-setting;
and though I gained more thus than in any other way, yet I was
dissatisfied, for I would fain have been employed upon some higher
task than that of setting precious stones.
Just then I met with Federigo Ginori, a young man of a very
lofty spirit. He had lived some years in Naples, and being endowed
with great charms of person and presence had been the lover of
a Neapolitan princess. He wanted to have a medal made, with Atlas
bearing the world upon his shoulders, and applied to Michel Agnolo
for a design. Michel Agnolo made this answer: "Go and find out a
young goldsmith named Benvenuto; he will serve you admirably,
and certainly he does not stand in need of sketches by me. However,
to prevent your thinking that I want to save myself the trouble
of so slight a matter, I will gladly sketch you something; but mean-
while speak to Benvenuto, and let him also make a model; he can
then execute the better of the two designs." Federigo Ginori came
to me, and told me what he wanted, adding thereto how Michel
Agnolo had praised me, and how he had suggested I should make
a waxen model while he undertook to supply a sketch. The words
of that great man so heartened me, that I set myself to work at once
with eagerness upon the model; and when I had finished it, a
painter who was intimate with Michel Agnolo, called Giuliano
Bugiardini, brought me the drawing of Atlas. 104 On the same oc-
casion I showed Giuliano my little model in wax, which was very
different from Michel Agnolo's drawing; and Federigo, in concert
with Bugiardini, agreed that I should work upon my model. So
I took it in hand, and when Michel Agnolo saw it, he praised me
to the skies. This was a figure, as I have said, chiselled on a plate
of gold; Atlas had the heaven upon his back, made out of a crystal
ball, engraved with the zodiac upon a field of lapis-lazuli. The whole
composition produced an indescribably fine effect; and under it ran
the legend Sumrna tulisse juvat.* Federigo was so thoroughly well
pleased that he paid me very liberally. Aluigi Alamanni was at that
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time in Florence. Federigo Ginori, who enjoyed his friendship,
brought him often to my workshop, and through this introduction
we became very intimate together. 106
XLII
POPE CLEMENT had now declared war upon the city of Florence,
which thereupon was put in a state of defence; and the militia being
organised in each quarter of the town, I too received orders to
serve in my turn. I provided myself with a rich outfit, and went
about with the highest nobility of Florence, who showed a unani-
mous desire to fight for the defence of our liberties. Meanwhile the
speeches which are usual upon such occasions were made in every
quarter; 101 the young men met together more than was their wont,
and everywhere we had but one topic of conversation.
It happened one day, about noon, that a crowd of tall men and
lusty young fellows, the first in the city, were assembled in my
workshop, when a letter from Rome was put into my hands. It
came from a man called Maestro Giacopino della Barca. His real
name was Giacopo della Sciorina, but they called him della Barca
in Rome, because he kept a ferry boat upon the Tiber between
Ponte Sisto and Ponte Santo Agnolo. He was a person of consider-
able talent, distinguished by his pleasantries and striking conversa-
tion, and he had formerly been a designer of patterns for the cloth-
weavers in Florence. This man was intimate with the Pope, who
took great pleasure in hearing him talk. Being one day engaged in
conversation, they touched upon the sack and the defence of the
castle. This brought me to the Pope's mind, and he spoke of me
in the very highest terms, adding that if he knew where I was, he
should be glad to get me back. Maestro Giacopo said I was in
Florence; whereupon the Pope bade the man write and tell me to
return to him. The letter I have mentioned was to the effect that
I should do well if I resumed the service of Clement, and that this
was sure to turn out to my advantage.
The young men who were present were curious to know what
die letter contained; wherefore I concealed it as well as I could.
Afterwards I wrote to Maestro Giacopo, begging him by no means,
whether for good or evil, to write to me again. He however grew
more obstinate in his officiousness, and wrote me another letter,
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so extravagantly worded, that if it had been seen, I should have
got into serious trouble. The substance of it was that the Pope re-
quired me to come at once, wanting to employ me on work of the
greatest consequence; also that if I wished to act right, I ought to
throw up everything, and not to stand against a Pope in the party
of those hare-brained Radicals. This letter, when I read it, put
me in such a fright, that I went to seek my dear friend Piero LandL
Directly he set eyes on me, he asked what accident had happened
to upset me so. I told my friend that it was quite impossible for me
to explain what lay upon my mind, and what was causing me this
trouble; only I entreated him to take the keys I gave him, and to
return the gems and gold in my drawers to such and such persons,
whose names he would find inscribed upon my memorandum-book;
next, I begged him to pack up the furniture of my house, and keep
account of it with his usual loving-kindness; and in a few days he
should hear where I was. The prudent young man, guessing per-
haps pretty nearly how the matter stood, replied: "My brother, go
your ways quickly; then write to me, and have no further care
about your things." I did as he advised. He was the most loyal
friend, the wisest, the most worthy, the most discreet, the most
affectionate that I have ever known. I left Florence and went to
Rome, and from there I wrote to him. 108
XLIII
UPON MY ARRIVAL in Rome, I found several of my former friends, by
whom I was very well received and kindly entertained. No time was
lost before I set myself to work at things which brought me profit,
but were not notable enough to be described. There was a fine old
man, a goldsmith, called Raffaello del Moro, who had considerable
reputation in the trade, and was to boot a very worthy fellow. He
begged me to consent to enter his workshop, saying he had some
commissions of importance to execute, on which high profits might
be looked for; so I accepted his proposal with good-wilL
More than ten days had elapsed, and I had not presented myself
to Maestro Giacopino della Barca. Meeting me one day by accident,
he gave me a hearty welcome, and asked me how long I had been
in Rome. When I told him I had been there about a fortnight, he
took it very ill, and said that I showed little esteem for a Pope who
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had urgently compelled him to write three times for me. I, who had
taken his persistence in the matter still more ill, made no reply, but
swallowed down my irritation. The man, who suffered from a flux
of words, began one of his long yarns, and went on talking, till at
the last, when I saw him tired out, I merely said that he might bring
me to the Pope when he saw fit. He answered that any time would
do for him; and I, that I was always ready. So we took our way
toward the palace. It was a Maundy Thursday; and when we reached
the apartments of the Pope, he being known there and I expected,
we were at once admitted.
The Pope was in bed, suffering from a slight indisposition, and he
had with him Messer Jacopo Salviati and the Archbishop of Capua. 109
When the Pope set eyes on me, he was exceedingly glad. I kissed his
feet, and then, as humbly as I could, drew near to him, and let him
understand that I had things of consequence to utter. On this he
waved his hand, and the two prelates retired to a distance from us.
I began at once to speak: "Most blessed Father, from the time of the
sack up to this hour, I have never been able to confess or to com-
municate, because they refuse me absolution. The case is this. When
I melted down the gold and worked at the unsetting of those jewels,
your Holiness ordered the Cavalierino to give me a modest reward
for my labours, of which I received nothing, but on the contrary
he rather paid me with abuse. When then I ascended to the chamber
where I had melted down the gold, and washed the ashes, I found
about a pound and a half of gold in tiny grains like millet-seeds; and
inasmuch as I had not money enough to take me home respectably,
I thought I would avail myself of this, and give it back again when
opportunity should offer. Now I am here at the feet of your Holi-
ness, who is the only true confessor. I entreat you to do me the
favour of granting me indulgence, so that I may be able to confess
and communicate, and by the grace of your Holiness regain the
grace of my Lord God." Upon this the Pope, with a scarcely per-
ceptible sigh, remembering perhaps his former trials, spoke as fol-
lows: "Benvenuto, I thoroughly believe what you tell me; it is in my
power to absolve you of any unbecoming deed you may have done,
and, what is more, I have the will. So, then, speak out with frankness
and perfect confidence; for if you had taken the value of a whole
tiara, I am quite ready to pardon you." Thereupon I answered: "I
took nothing, most blessed Father, but what I have confessed; and
this did not amount to the value of 140 ducats, for that was the sum
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I received from the Mint in Perugia, and with it I went home to
comfort my poor old father." The Pope said: "Your father has been
as virtuous, good, and worthy a man as was ever born, and you have
not degenerated from him. I am very sorry that the money was so
little; but such as you say it was, I make you a present of it, and give
you my full pardon. Assure your confessor of this, if there is nothing
else upon your conscience which concerns me. Afterwards, when
you have confessed and communicated, you shall present yourself to
me again, and it will be to your advantage."
When I parted from the Pope, Messer Giacopo and the Arch-
bishop approached, and the Pope spoke to them in the highest terms
imaginable about me; he said that he had confessed and absolved me;
then he commissioned the Archbishop of Capua to send for me and
ask if I had any other need beyond this matter, giving him full leave
to absolve me amply, and bidding him, moreover, treat me with the
utmost kindness.
While I was walking away with Maestro Giacopino, he asked me
very inquisitively what was the close and lengthy conversation I had
had with his Holiness. After he had repeated the question more than
tfwicc, I said that I did not mean to tell him, because they were mat-
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ters with which he had nothing to do, and therefore he need not go
on asking me. Then I went to do what had been agreed on with the
Pope; and after the two festivals were over, I again presented myself
before his Holiness. He received me even better than before, and
said: "If you had come a little earlier to Rome, I should have com-
missioned you to restore my two tiaras, which were pulled to pieces
in the castle. These, however, with the exception of the gems, are
objects of little artistic interest; so I will employ you on a piece of
the very greatest consequence, where you will be able to exhibit all
your talents. It is a button for my priest's cope, which has to be made
round like a trencher, and as big as a little trencher, one-third of a
cubit wide. Upon this I want you to represent a God the Father in
half-relief, and in the middle to set that magnificent big diamond,
which you remember, together with several other gems of the great-
est value. Caradosso began to make me one, but did not finish it; I
want yours to be finished quickly, so that I may enjoy the use of it
a little while. Go, then, and make me a fine model." He had all the
jewels shown me, and then I went off like a shot 110 to set myself to
work.
XLIV
DURING THE TIME when Florence was besieged, Federigo Ginori, for
whom I made that medal of Atlas, died of consumption, and the
medal came into the hands of Messer Luigi Alamanni, who, after a
little while, took it to present in person to Francis, King of France,
accompanied by some of his own finest compositions. The King was
exceedingly delighted with the gift; whereupon Messer Luigi told
his Majesty so much about my personal qualities, as well as my art,
and spoke so favourably, that the King expressed a wish to know me.
Meanwhile I pushed my model for the button forward with all the
diligence I could, constructing it exactly of the size which the jewel
itself was meant to have. In the trade of the goldsmiths it roused
considerable jealousy among those who thought that they were capa-
ble of matching it. A certain Micheletto had just come to Rome; 111
he was very clever at engraving cornelians, and was, moreover, a
most intelligent jeweller, an old man and of great celebrity. He had
been employed upon the Pope's tiaras; and while I was working at
my model, he wondered much that I had not applied to him, being
as he was a man of intelligence and of large credit with the Pope. At
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last, when he saw that I was not coming to him, he came to me, and
asked me what I was about. "What the Pope has ordered me," I
answered. Then he said: "The Pope has commissioned me to super-
intend everything which is being made for his Holiness." I only
replied that I would ask the Pope, and then should know what
answer I ought to give him. He told me that I should repent, and
departing in anger, had an interview with all the masters of the art;
they deliberated on the matter, and charged Michele with the con-
duct of the whole affair. As was to be expected from a person of his
talents, he ordered more than thirty drawings to be made, all differ-
ing in their details, for the piece the Pope had commissioned.
Having already access to his Holiness's ear, he took into his counsel
another jeweller, named Pompeo, a Milanese, who was in favour with
the Pope, and related to Messer Traiano, the first chamberlain of the
court; 112 these two together, then, began to insinuate that they had
seen my model, and did not think me up to a work of such extraordi-
nary import. The Pope replied that he would also have to see it, and
that if he then found me unfit for the purpose, he should look around
for one who was fit. Both of them put in that they had several excel-
lent designs ready; to which the Pope made answer, that he was very
pleased to hear it, but that he did not care to look at them till I had
completed my model; afterwards, he would take them all into con-
sideration at the same time.
After a few days I finished my model, and took it to the Pope one
morning, when Messer Traiano made me wait till he had sent for
Micheletto and Pompeo, bidding them make haste and bring their
drawings. On their arrival we were introduced, and Micheletto and
Pompeo immediately unrolled their papers, which the Pope in-
spected. The draughtsmen who had been employed were not in the
jeweller's trade, and therefore knew nothing about giving their right
place to precious stones; and the jewellers, on their side, had not
shown them how; for I ought to say that a jeweller, when he has
to work with figures, must of necessity understand design, else he
cannot produce anything worth looking at: and so it turned out that
all of them had stuck that famous diamond in the middle of the
breast of God the Father. The Pope, who was an excellent connois-
seur, observing this mistake, approved of none of them; and when
he had looked at about ten, he flung the rest down, and said to me,
who was standing at a distance: "Now show me your model, Ben-
vcnuto, so that I may see if you have made the same mistake as those
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fellows." I came forward, and opened a little round box; whereupon
one would have thought that a light from heaven had struck the
Pope's eyes. He cried aloud: "If you had been in my own body,
you could not have done it better, as this proves. Those men there
have found the right way to bring shame upon themselves!" A crowd
of great lords pressing round, the Pope pointed out the difference
between my model and the drawings. When he had sufficiently com-
mended it, the others standing terrified and stupid before him, he
turned to me and said: "I am only afraid of one thing, and that is
of the utmost consequence. Friend Benvenuto, wax is easy to work
in; the real difficulty is to execute this in gold." To these words I
answered without a moment's hesitation: "Most blessed Father, if I
do not work it ten times better than the model, let it be agreed be-
forehand that you pay me nothing." When they heard this, the
noblemen made a great stir, crying out that I was promising too
much. Among them was an eminent philosopher, who spoke out in
my favour: "From the fine physiognomy and bodily symmetry which
I observe in this young man, I predict that he will accomplish what
he says, and think that he will even go beyond it." The Pope put in:
"And this is my opinion also." Then he called his chamberlain,
Messer Traiano, and bade him bring five hundred golden ducats of
the Camera.
While we were waiting for the money, the Pope turned once more
to gaze at leisure on the dexterous device I had employed for com-
bining the diamond with the figure of God the Father. I had put the
diamond exactly in the centre of the piece; and above it God the
Father was shown seated, leaning nobly in a sideways attitude, 118
which made a perfect composition, and did not interfere with the
stone's effect. Lifting his right hand, he was in the act of giving the
benediction. Below the diamond I had placed three children, who,
with their arms upraised, were supporting the jewel. One of them,
in the middle, was in full relief, the other two in half -relief. All
round I set a crowd of cherubs, in divers attitudes, adapted to the
other gems. A mantle undulated to the wind around the figure of the
Father, from the folds of which cherubs peeped out; and there
were other ornaments besides which made a very beautiful effect.
The work was executed in white stucco on a black stone. When the
money came, the Pope gave it me with his own hand, and begged
me in the most winning terms to let him have it finished in his own
days, adding that this should be to my advantage.
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XLV
I TOOK THE MONEY and the model home, and was in the utmost
impatience to begin my work. After I had laboured diligently for
eight days, the Pope sent word by one of his chamberlains, a very
great gentleman of Bologna, that I was to come to him and bring
what I had got in hand. On the way, the chamberlain, who was the
most gentle-mannered person in the Roman court, told me that the
Pope not only wanted to see what I was doing, but also intended to
intrust me with another task of the highest consequence, which was,
in fact, to furnish dies for the money of the Mint; and bade me arm
myself beforehand with the answer I should give; in short, he wished
me to be prepared, and therefore he had spoken. When we came into
the presence, I lost no time in exhibiting the golden plate, upon
which I had as yet carved nothing but my figure of God the Father;
but this, though only in rough, displayed a grander style than that
of the waxen model. The Pope regarded it with stupefaction, and
exclaimed: "From this moment forward I will believe everything
you say." Then loading me with marks of favour, he added: "It is
my intention to give you another commission, which, if you feel
competent to execute it, I shall have no less at heart than this, or
more." He proceeded to tell me that he wished to make dies for the
coinage of his realm, and asked me if I had ever tried my hand at
such things, and if I had the courage to attempt them. I answered that
of courage for the task I had no lack, and that I had seen how dies were
made, but that I had not ever made any. There was in the presence a
certain Messer Tommaso, of Prato, his Holiness's Datary; 114 and this
man, being a friend of my enemies, put in: "Most blessed Father, the
favours you are showering upon this young man (and he by nature
so extremely overbold) are enough to make him promise you a new
world. You have already given him one great task, and now, by add-
ing a greater, you are like to make them clash together." The Pope,
in a rage, turned round on him, and told him to mind his own busi-
ness. Then he commanded me to make the model for a broad
doubloon of gold, upon which he wanted a naked Christ with his
hands tied, and the inscription Ecce Homo; the reverse was to have
a Pope and Emperor in the act together of propping up a cross which
seemed to fall, and this legend: Unus spiritus et una fides erat in eis.
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After the Pope had ordered this handsome coin, Bandinello the
sculptor came up; he had not yet been made a knight; and, with his
wonted presumption muffled up in ignorance, said: "For these gold-
smiths one must make drawings for such fine things as that." I
turned round upon him in a moment, and cried out that I did not
want his drawings for my art, but that I hoped before very long
to give his art some trouble by my drawings. The Pope expressed
high satisfaction at these words, and turning to me said: "Go then,
my Benvenuto, and devote yourself with spirit to my service, and do
not lend an ear to the chattering of these silly fellows."
So I went off, and very quickly made two dies of steel; then I
stamped a coin in gold, and one Sunday after dinner took the coin
and the dies to the Pope, who, when he saw the piece, was astonished
and greatly gratified, not only because my work pleased him ex-
cessively, but also because of the rapidity with which I had per-
formed it. For the further satisfaction and amazement of his Holi-
ness, I had brought with me all the old coins which in former rimes
had been made by those able men who served Popes Giulio and Leo;
and when I noticed that mine pleased him far better, I drew forth
from my bosom a patent, 115 in which I prayed for the post of stamp-
master 116 in the Mint. This place was worth six golden crowns a
month, in addition to the dies, which were paid at the rate of a ducat
for three by the Master of the Mint. The Pope took my patent and
handed it to the Datary, telling him to lose no time in dispatching
the business. The Datary began to put it in his pocket, saying: "Most
blessed Father, your Holiness ought not to go so fast; these are mat-
ters which deserve some reflection." To this the Pope replied: "I
have heard what you have got to say; give me here that patent." He
took it, and signed it at once with his own hand; then, giving it back,
added: "Now, you have no answer left; see that you dispatch it at
once, for this is my pleasure; and Benvenuto's shoes are worth more
than the eyes of all those other blockheads." So, having thanked his
Holiness, I went back, rejoicing above measure, to my work.
XLVI
I WAS STILL WORKING in the shop of Raffaello del Moro. This worthy
man had a very beautiful young daughter, with regard to whom he
had designs on me; and I, becoming partly aware of his intentions,
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was very willing; but, while indulging such desires, I made no show
of them: on the contrary, I was so discreet in my behaviour that I
made him wonder. It so happened that the poor girl was attacked
by a disorder in her right hand, which ate into the two bones belong-
ing to the little finger and the next. 117 Owing to her father's careless-
ness, she had been treated by an ignorant quack-doctor, who pre-
dicted that the poor child would be crippled in the whole of her
right arm, if even nothing worse should happen. When I noticed the
dismay of her father, I begged him not to believe all that this ignorant
doctor had said. He replied that he had no acquaintance with physi-
cians or with surgeons, and entreated me, if I knew of one, to bring
him to the house. 118 I sent at once for a certain Maestro Giacomo of
Perugia, a man of great skill in surgery, who examined the poor
girl. 119 She was dreadfully frightened, through having gained some
inkling of the quack's predictions; whereas, my intelligent doctor
declared that she would suffer nothing of consequence, and would
be very well able to use her right hand; also that though the last two
fingers must remain somewhat weaker than the others, this would
be of no inconvenience at all to her. So he began his treatment; and
after a few days, when he was going to extract a portion of the
diseased bones, her father called for me to be present at the opera-
tion. Maestro Giacomo was using some coarse steel instruments;
and when I observed that he was making little way and at the same
time was inflicting severe pain on the patient, I begged him to stop
and wait half a quarter of an hour for me. I ran into the shop, and
made a little scalping-iron of steel, extremely thin and curved; it cut
like a razor. On my return, the surgeon used it, and began to work
with so gentle a hand that she felt no pain, and in a short while the
operation was over. In consequence of this service, and for other
reasons, this worthy man conceived for me as much love, or more,
as he had for two male children; and in the meanwhile he attended
to the cure of his beautiful young daughter.
I was on terms of the closest intimacy with one Messer Giovanni
Gaddi, who was a clerk of the Camera, and a great connoisseur of
the arts, although he had no practical acquaintance with any. 120 In
his household were a certain Messer Giovanni, a Greek of eminent
learning, Messer Lodovico of Fano, no less distinguished as a man of
letters, Messer Antonio Allegretti, and Messer Annibale Caro, 121 at
that time in his early manhood. Messer Bastiano of Venice, a most
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excellent painter, and I were admitted to their society; and almost
every day we met together in Messer Giovanni's company. 122
Being aware of this intimacy, the worthy goldsmith Raff aello said
to Messer Giovanni: "Good sir, you know me; now I want to marry
my daughter to Benvenuto, and can think of no better intermediary
than your worship. So I am come to crave your assistance, and to
beg you to name for her such dowry from my estate as you may
think suitable." The light-headed man hardly let my good friend
finish what he had to say, before he put in quite at random: "Talk
no more about it, Raff aello; you are farther from your object than
January from mulberries." The poor man, utterly discouraged,
looked about at once for another husband for his girl; while she and
the mother and all the family lived on in a bad humour with me.
Since I did not know the real cause of this I imagined they were
paying me with bastard coin for the many kindnesses I had shown
them I conceived the thought of opening a workshop of my own
in their neighbourhood. Messer Giovanni told me nothing till the
girl was married, which happened in a few months.
Meanwhile, I laboured assiduously at the work I was doing for
the Pope, and also in the service of the Mint; for his Holiness had
ordered another coin, of the value of two carlins, on which his own
portrait was stamped, while the reverse bore a figure of Christ upon
the waters, holding out his hand to S. Peter, with this inscription,
Quare dubitasti? My design won such applause that a certain secre-
tary of the Pope, a man of the greatest talent, called II Sanga, 123 was
moved to this remark: "Your Holiness can boast of having a cur-
rency superior to any of the ancients in all their glory." The Pope
replied: "Benvenuto, for his part, can boast of serving an emperor
like me, who is able to discern his merit." I went on at my great
piece in gold, showing it f requently to the Pope, who was very eager
to see it, and each time expressed greater admiration.
XLVII
MY BROTHER, at this period, was also in Rome, serving Duke Ales-
sandro, on whom the Pope had recently conferred the Duchy of
Penna. This prince kept in his service a multitude of soldiers, worthy
fellows, brought up to valour in the school of that famous general
Giovanni de' Medici; and among these was my brother, whom the
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Duke esteemed as highly as the bravest of them. One day my brother
went after dinner to the shop of a man called Baccino della Croce
in the Banchi, which all those men-at-arms frequented. He had flung
himself upon a settee, and was sleeping. Just then the guard of the
Bargello passed by; 124 they were taking to prison a certain Captain
Cisti, a Lombard, who had also been a member of Giovanni's troop,
but was not in the service of the Duke. The captain, Cattivanza degli
Strozzi, chanced to be in the same shop; 125 and when Cisti caught
sight of him, he whispered: "I was bringing you those crowns I
owed; if you want them, come for them before they go with me
to prison." Now Cattivanza had a way of putting his neighbours to
the push, not caring to hazard his own person. So, finding there
around him several young fellows of the highest daring, more eager
than apt for so serious an enterprise, he bade them catch up Captain
Cisti and get the money from him, and if the guard resisted, over-
power the men, provided they had pluck enough to do so.
The young men were but four, and all four of them without a
beard. The first was called Bcrtino Aldobrandi, another Anguillotto
of Lucca; I cannot recall the names of the rest. Bcrtino had been
trained like a pupil by my brother; and my brother felt the most un-
bounded love for him. So then, off dashed the four brave lads, and
came up with the guard of the Bargello upwards of fifty constables,
counting pikes, arquebuses, and two-handed swords. After a few
words they drew their weapons, and the four boys so harried the
guard, that if Captain Cattivanza had but shown his face, without so
much as drawing, they would certainly have put the whole pack to
flight. But delay spoiled it all; for Bertino received some ugly
wounds and fell; at the same time, Anguillotto was also hit in the
right arm, and being unable to use his sword, got out of the fray as
well as he was able. The others did the same. Bertino Aldobrandi
was lifted from the ground seriously injured.
XLVIII
WHILE THESE THINGS were happening, we were all at table; for that
morning we had dined more than an hour later than usual. On hear-
ing the commotion, one of the old man's sons, the elder, rose from
table to go and look at the scuffle. He was called Giovanni; and I
said to him: "For Heaven's sake, don't go! In such matters one is
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always certain to lose, while there is nothing to be gained." His
father spoke to like purpose: "Pray, my son, don't go!" But the lad,
without heeding any one, ran down the stairs. Reaching the Banchi,
where the great scrimmage was, and seeing Bertino lifted from the
ground, he ran towards home, and met my brother Cecchino on the
way, who asked what was the matter. Though some of the bystand-
ers signed to Giovanni not to tell Cecchino, he cried out like a mad-
man how it was that Bertino Aldobrandi had been killed by the
guard. My poor brother gave vent to a bellow which might have
been heard ten miles away. Then he turned to Giovanni: "Ah me!
but could you tell me which of those men killed him for me?" 126
Giovanni said, yes, that it was a man who had a big two-handed
sword, with a blue feather in his bonnet. My poor brother rushed
ahead, and having recognised the homicide by those signs, he threw
himself with all his dash and spirit into the middle of the band, and
before his man could turn on guard, ran him right through the guts,
and with the sword's hilt thrust him to the ground. Then he turned
upon the rest with such energy and daring, that his one arm was
on the point of putting the whole band to flight, had it not been that,
while wheeling round to strike an arquebusier, this man fired in self-
defence, and hit the brave unfortunate young fellow above the knee
of his right leg. While he lay stretched upon the ground, the con-
stables scrambled off in disorder as fast as they were able, lest a pair
to my brother should arrive upon the scene.
Noticing that the tumult was not subsiding, I too rose from table,
and girding on my sword for everybody wore one then I went to
the bridge of Sam' Agnolo, where I saw a group of several men
assembled. On my coming up and being recognised by some of them,
they gave way before me, and showed me what I least of all things
wished to see, albeit I made mighty haste to view the sight. On the
instant I did not know Cecchino, since he was wearing a different
suit of clothes from that in which I had lately seen him. Accordingly,
he recognised me first, and said: "Dearest brother, do not be upset
by my grave accident; it is only what might be expected in my pro-
fession: get me removed from here at once, for I have but few hours
to live." They had acquainted me with the whole event while he was
speaking, in brief words befitting such occasion. So I answered:
"Brother, this is the greatest sorrow and the greatest trial that could
happen to me in the whole course of my life. But be of good cheer;
for before you lose sight of him who did the mischief, you shall see
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
yourself revenged by my hand." Our words on both sides were to
the purport, but of die shortest.
XLIX
THE GUARD was now about fifty paces from us; for Maffio, their
officer, had made some of them turn back to take up the corporal
qiy brother killed. Accordingly, I quickly traversed that short space,
wrapped in my cape, which I had tightened round me, and came up
with Maffio, whom I should most certainly have murdered, for there
were plenty of people round, and I had wound my way among
them. With the rapidity of lightning, I had half drawn my sword
from the sheath, when Berlinghier Berlinghieri, a young man of the
greatest daring and my good friend, threw himself from behind
upon my arms; he had four other fellows of like kidney with him,
who cried out to Maffio: "Away with you, for this man here alone
was killing you!" He asked: "Who is he?" and they answered:
"Own brother to the man you see there." Without waiting to hear
more, he made haste for Torre di Nona; 127 and they said: "Ben-
venuto, we prevented you against your will, but did it for your
good; now let us go to succour him who must die shortly." Accord-
ingly, we turned and went back to my brother, whom I had at once
conveyed into a house. The doctors who were called in consultation,
treated him with medicaments, but could not decide to amputate the
leg, which might perhaps have saved him.
As soon as his wound had been dressed, Duke Alessandro appeared
and most affectionately greeted him. My brother had not as yet lost
consciousness; so he said to the Duke: "My lord, this only grieves
me, that your Excellency is losing a servant than whom you may
perchance find men more valiant in the profession of arms, but none
more lovingly and loyally devoted to your service than I have been."
The Duke bade him do all he could to keep alive; for the rest, he
well knew him to be a man of worth and courage. He then turned
to his attendants, ordering them to see that the brave young fellow
wanted for nothing.
When he was gone, my brother lost blood so copiously, for noth-
ing could be done to stop it, that he went off his head, and kept
raving all the following night, with the exception that once, when
they wanted to give him the communion, he said: "You would have
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done well to confess me before; now it is impossible that I should
receive the divine sacrament in this already ruined frame; it will be
enough if I partake of it by the divine virtue of the eyesight,
whereby it shall be transmitted into my immortal soul, which only
prays to Him for mercy and forgiveness." Having spoken thus, the
host was elevated; but he straightway relapsed into the same deliri-
ous ravings as before, pouring forth a torrent of the most terrible
frenzies and horrible imprecations that the mind of man could imag-
ine; nor did he cease once all that night until the day broke.
When the sun appeared above our horizon, he turned to me and
said: "Brother, I do not wish to stay here longer, for these fellows
will end by making me do something tremendous, which may cause
them to repent of the annoyance they have given me." Then he kicked
out both his legs the injured limb we had enclosed in a very heavy
box and made as though he would fling it across a horse's back.
Turning his face round to me, he called out thrice, "Farewell, fare-
well!" and with the last word that most valiant spirit passed away.
At the proper hour, toward nightfall, I had him buried with due
ceremony in the church of the Florentines; and afterwards I erected
to his memory a very handsome monument of marble, upon which
I caused trophies and banners to be carved. I must not omit to men-
tion that one of his friends had asked him who the man was that had
killed him, and if he could recognise him; to which he answered that
he could, and gave his description. My brother, indeed, attempted
to prevent this coming to my ears; but I got it very weU impressed
upon my mind, as will appear in the sequel. 12 *
RETURNING TO THE MONUMENT, I should relate that certain famous
men of letters, who knew my brother, composed for me an epitaph,
telling me that the noble young man deserved it. The inscription ran
thus:
"Francisco Cellino Florentine, qui quod in teneris annis ad loannem
Medicem ducem plures victorias retulit et signifer fuit, facile docu-
mentum dedit qumte fortitudinis et consilii vir futurus erat 9 ni
crudelis fati archibuso transfossus, quinto atatis lustra jaceret 9 Ben-
venutus f rater posuit. Obiit die xxvii Mail MD. XXIX."
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He was twenty-five years of age; and since the soldiers called him
Cecchino del Piffero, 129 his real name being Giovanfrancesco Celling
I wanted to engrave the former, by which he was commonly known,
under the armorial bearings of our family. This name then I had cut
in fine antique characters, all of which were broken save the first
and last. I was asked by the learned men who had composed that
beautiful epitaph, wherefore I used these broken letters; and my
answer was, because the marvellous framework of his body was
spoiled and dead; and the reason why the first and last remained
entire was, that the first should symbolise the great gift God had
given him, namely, of a human soul, inflamed with his divinity, the
which hath never broken, while the second represented the glori-
ous renown of his brave actions. The thought gave satisfaction, and
several persons have since availed themselves of my device. Close
to the name I had the coat of us Cellini carved upon the stone,
altering it in some particulars. In Ravenna, which is a most ancient
city, there exist Cellini of our name in the quality of very honour-
able gentry, who bear a lion rampant or upon a field of azure, hold-
ing a lily gules in his dexter paw, with a label in chief and three little
lilies or. 180 These are the true arms of the Cellini. My father showed
me a shield as ours which had the paw only, together with the other
bearings; but I should prefer to follow those of the Cellini of Ra-
venna, which I have described above. Now to return to what I
caused to be engraved upon my brother's tomb: it was the lion's
paw, but instead of a lily, I made the lion hold an axe, with the
field of the scutcheon quartered; and I put the axe in solely that I
might not be unmindful to revenge him.
LI
I WENT ON applying myself with the utmost diligence upon the gold-
work for Pope Clement's button. He was very eager to have it,
and used to send for me two or three times a week, in order to
inspect it; and his delight in the work was always increased. Often
would he rebuke and scold me, as it were, for the great grief in
which my brother's loss had plunged me; and one day, observing
me more downcast and out of trim than was proper, he cried aloud:
"Benvenuto, oh! I did not know that you were mad. Have you
only just learned that there is no remedy against death? One would
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think that you were trying to ran after him." When I left the
presence, I continued working at the jewel and the dies 181 for the
Mint; but I also took to watching the arquebusier who shot my
brother, as though he had been a girl I was in love with. The man
had formerly been in the light cavalry, but afterwards had joined
the arquebusiers as one of the BargeUo's corporals; and what in-
creased my rage was that he had used these boastful words: "If
fc had not been for me, who killed that brave young man, the least
trifle of delay would have resulted in his putting us all to flight with
great disaster." When I saw that the fever caused by always seeing
him about was depriving me of sleep and appetite, and was bring-
ing me by degrees to sorry plight, I overcame my repugnance to so
low and not quite praiseworthy an enterprise, and made iny mind up
one evening to rid myself of the torment. The fellow lived in a
house near a place called Torre Sanguigua, next door to the lodg-
ing of one of the most fashionable courtesans in Rome, named
Signora Antea. It had just struck twenty-four, and he was standing
at the house-door, with his sword in hand, having risen from supper.
With great address I stole up to him, holding a large Pistojan
dagger, 182 and dealt him a back-handed stroke, with which I meant
to cut his head clean off; but as he turned round very suddenly, the
blow fell upon the point of his left shoulder and broke the bone.
He sprang up, dropped his sword, half-stunned with the great pain,
and took to flight. I followed after, and in four steps caught him up,
when I lifted my dagger above his head, which he was holding
very low, and hit him in the back exactly at the juncture of the
nape-bone and the neck. The poniard entered this point so deep into
the bone, that, although I used all my strength to pull it out, I was
not able. For just at that moment four soldiers with drawn swords
sprang out from Antea's lodging, and obliged me to set hand to my
own sword to defend my life. Leaving the poniard then, I made
off, and fearing I might be recognised, took refuge in the palace
of Duke Alessandro, which was between Piazza Navona and the
Rotonda. 188 On my arrival, I asked to see the Duke; who told me
that, if I was alone, I need only keep quiet and have no further
anxiety, but go on working at the jewel which the Pope had set
his heart on, and stay eight days indoors. He gave this advice the
more securely, because the soldiers had now arrived who inter-
rupted die completion of my deed; they held the dagger in their
hand, and were relating how the matter happened, and the great
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
trouble they had to pull the weapon from the neck and head-bone
of the man, whose name they did not know. Just then Giovan
Bandini came up, and said to them: 184 "That poniard is mine, and
I lent it to Benvenuto, who was bent on revenging his brother."
The soldiers were profuse in their expressions of regret at having
interrupted me, although my vengeance had been amply satisfied.
More than eight days elapsed, and the Pope did not send for me
according to his custom. Afterwards he summoned me through his
chamberlain, the Bolognese nobleman I have already mentioned,
who let me, in his own modest manner, understand that his Holi-
ness knew all, but was very well inclined toward me, and that I
had only to mind my work and keep quiet. When we reached the
presence, the Pope cast so menacing a glance towards me, that the
mere look of his eyes made me tremble. Afterwards, upon examin-
ing my work, his countenance cleared, and he began to praise me be-
yond measure, saying that I had done a vast amount in a short time.
Then, looking me straight in the face, he added: "Now that you
are cured, Benvenuto, take heed how you live." 185 I, who under-
stood his meaning, promised that I would. Immediately upon this,
I opened a very fine shop in the Banchi, opposite Raffaello, and
there I finished the jewel after the lapse of a few months.
LII
THE POPE had sent me all those precious stones, except the diamond,
which was pawned to certain Genoese bankers for some pressing
need he had of money. The rest were in my custody, together
with a model of the diamond. I had five excellent journeymen, and
in addition to the great piece, I was engaged on several jobs; so that
my shop contained property of much value in jewels, gems, and
gold and silver. I kept a shaggy dog, very big and handsome, which
Duke Alessandro gave me; the beast was capital as a retriever, since
he brought me every sort of birds and game I shot, but he also
served most admirably for a watchdog. It happened, as was natural
at the age of twenty-nine, that I had taken into my service a girl of
great beauty and grace, whom I used as a model in my art, and who
was also complaisant of her personal favours to me. Such being the
case, I occupied an apartment far away from my workmen's rooms,
as well as from the shop; and this communicated by a little dark
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
passage with the maid's bedroom. I used frequently to pass the night
with her; and though I sleep as lightly as ever yet did man upon
this earth, yet, after indulgence in sexual pleasure, my slumber is
sometimes very deep and heavy.
So it chanced one night: for I must say that a thief, under the
pretext of being a goldsmith, had spied on me, and cast his eyes
upon the precious stones, and made a plan to steal them. Well, then,
this fellow broke into the shop, where he found a quantity of little
things in gold and silver. He was engaged in bursting open certain
boxes to get at the jewels he had noticed, when my dog jumped
upon him, and put him to much trouble to defend himself with
his sword. The dog, unable to grapple with an armed man, ran
several times through the house, and rushed into the rooms of the
journeymen, which had been left open because of the great heat.
When he found they paid no heed to his loud barking, he dragged
their bed-clothes off; and when they still heard nothing, he pulled
first one and then another by the arm till he roused them, and,
barking furiously, ran before to show them where he wanted them
to go. At last it became clear that they refused to follow; for the
traitors, cross at being disturbed, threw stones and sticks at him;
and this they could well do, for I had ordered them to keep all
night a lamp alight there; and in the end they shut their rooms tight;
so the dog, abandoning all hope of aid from such rascals, set out
alone again on his adventure. He ran down, and not finding the
thief in the shop, flew after him. When he got at him, he tore the
cape off his back. It would have gone hard with the fellow had
he not called for help to certain tailors, praying them for God's
sake to save him from a mad dog; and they, believing what he said,
jumped out and drove the dog off with much trouble.
After sunrise my workmen went into the shop, and saw that it had
been broken open and all the boxes smashed. They began to scream
at the top of their voices: "Ah, woe is me! Ah, woe is me!" The
clamour woke me, and I rushed out in a panic. Appearing thus be-
fore them, they cried out: "Alas to us! for we have been robbed
by some one, who has broken and borne everything away! 9 ' These
words wrought so forcibly upon my mind that I dared not go to
my big chest and look if it still held the jewels of the Pope. So in-
tense was the anxiety, that I seemed to lose my eyesight, and told
them they themselves must unlock the chest, and see how many of
the Pope's gems were missing. The fellows were all of them in
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
their shirts; and when, on opening the chest, they saw the precious
stones and my work with them, they took heart of joy and shouted:
"There is no harm done; your piece and all the stones are here; but
the thief has left us naked to the shirt, because last night, by reason
of the burning heat, we took our clothes off in the shop and left
them here." Recovering my senses, I thanked God, and said: "Go
and get yourselves new suits of clothes; I will pay when I hear at
leisure how the whole thing happened." What caused me the most
pain, and made me lose my senses, and take fright so contrary
to my real nature was the dread lest peradventure folk should fancy
I had trumped a story of the robber up to steal the jewels. It had
already been said to Pope Clement by one of his most trusted
servants, and by others, that is, by Francesco del Nero, Zana de*
Biliotti his accountant, the Bishop of Vasona, and several such
men: 186 "Why, most blessed Father, do you confide gems of that
vast value to a young fellow who is all fire, more passionate for
arms than for his art, and not yet thirty years of age?" The Pope
asked in answer if any one of them knew that I had done aught to
justify such suspicions. Whereto Francesco del Nero, his treasurer,
replied: 187 "No, most blessed Father, because he has not as yet had
an opportunity." Whereto the Pope rejoined: "I regard him as a
thoroughly honest man; and if I saw with my own eyes some crime
he had committed, I should not believe it." This was the man who 188
caused me the greatest torment, and who suddenly came up before
my mind.
After telling the young men to provide themselves with fresh
clothes, I took my piece, together with the gems, setting them as
well as I could in their proper places, and went off at once with
them to the Pope. Francesco del Nero had already told him some-
thing of the trouble in my shop, and had put suspicions in his head.
So then, taking the thing rather ill than otherwise, he shot a furi-
ous glance upon me, and cried haughtily: "What have you come to
do here? What is up?" "Here are all your precious stones, and
not one of them is missing." At this the Pope's face cleared, and he
said: "So then, you're welcome." I showed him the piece, and
while he was inspecting it, I related to him the whole story of the
thief and of my agony, and what had been my greatest trouble in
the matter. During this speech, he oftentimes turned round to look
me sharply in the eyes; and Francesco del Nero being also in the
presence, this seemed to make him half sorry that he had not
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
guessed the truth. At last, breaking into laughter at the long tale I
was telling, he sent me off with these words: "Go, and take heed to
be an honest man, as indeed I know that you are. 9 '
LIII
I WENT ON working assiduously at the button, and at the same time
laboured for the Mint, when certain pieces of false money got
abroad in Rome, stamped with my own dies. They were brought
at once to the Pope, who, hearing things against me, said to Giacopo
Balducci, the Master of the Mint, "Take every means in your power
to find the criminal; for we are sure that Benvenuto is an honest
fellow." The traitor of a master, being in fact my enemy, replied:
"Would God, most blessed Father, that it may turn out as you say;
for we have some proofs against him." Upon this the Pope turned
to the Governor of Rome, and bade him see he found the male-
factor. During those days the Pope sent for me, and leading cau-
tiously in conversation to the topic of the coins, asked me at the
fitting moment: "Benvenuto, should you have the heart to coin false
money?" To this I replied that I thought I could do so better than
all the rascals who gave their minds to such vile work; for fellows
who practise lewd trades of that sort are not capable of earning
money, nor are they men of much ability. I, on the contrary, with my
poor wits could gain enough to keep me comfortably; for when I
set dies for the Mint, each morning before dinner I put at least
three crowns into my pocket; this was the customary payment for
the dies, and the Master of the Mint bore me a grudge, because
he would have liked to have them cheaper; so then, what I earned
with God's grace and the world's, sufficed me, and by coining false
money I should not have made so much. The Pope very well per-
ceived my drift; and whereas he had formerly given orders that
they should see I did not fly from Rome, he now told them to
look well about and have no heed of me, seeing he was ill-disposed
to anger me, and in this way run the risk of losing me. The officials
who received these orders were certain clerks of the Camera, who
made the proper search, as was their duty, and soon found the
rogue. He was a stamper in the service of the Mint, named Cesare
Macherone, and a Roman citizen. Together with this man they
detected a metal-founder of the Mint. 189
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LIV
ON THAT VERY DAY, as I was passing through the Piazza Navona, and
had my fine retriever with me, just when we came opposite the
gate of the Bargello, my dog flew barking loudly inside the door
upon a youth, who had been arrested at the suit of a man called
Donnino (a goldsmith from Parma, and a former pupil of Caradosso),
on the charge of having robbed him. The dog strove so violently
to tear the fellow to pieces, that the constables were moved to pity.
It so happened that he was pleading his own cause with boldness,
and Donnino had not evidence enough to support the accusation;
and what was more, one of the corporals of the guard, a Genoese,
was a friend of the young man's father. The upshot was that, what
with the dog and with those other circumstances, they were on the
point of releasing their prisoner. When I came up, the dog had lost
all fear of sword or staves, and was flying once more at the young
man; so they told me if I did not call the brute off they would
kill him. I held him back as well as I was able; but just then the
fellow, in the act of readjusting his cape, let fall some paper packets
from the hood, which Donnino recognised as his property. I too
recognised a little ring; whereupon I called out: "This is the thief
who broke into my shop and robbed it; and therefore my dog
knows him"; then I loosed the dog, who flew again upon the robber.
On this the fellow craved for mercy, promising to give back what-
ever he possessed of mine. When I had secured the dog, he pro-
ceeded to restore the gold and silver and the rings which he had
stolen from me, and twenty-five crowns in addition. Then he cried
once more to me for pity. I told him to make his peace with God,
for I should do him neither good nor evil. So I returned to my busi-
ness; and a few days afterwards, Cesare Macherone, the false coiner,
was hanged in the Banchi opposite the Mint; his accomplice was
sent to the galleys; the Genoese thief was hanged in the Campo di
Fiore, while I remained in better repute as an honest man than I
had enjoyed before.
LV
WHEN i HAD nearly finished my piece, there happened that terrible
inundation which flooded the whole of Rome. 140 I waited to see
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what would happen; the day was well-nigh spent, for die clocks
struck twenty-two, and the water went on rising formidably. Now
the front of my house and shop faced the BancW, but the back was
several yards higher, because it turned toward Monte Giordano;
accordingly, bethinking me first of my own safety and in the
next place of my honour, I filled my pockets with the jewels, and
gave the gold-piece into the custody of my workmen, and then
descended barefoot from the back-windows, and waded as well as
I could until I reached Monte Cavallo. There I sought out Messer
Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the Camera, and Bastiano Veneziano, the
painter. To the former I confided the precious stones, to keep in
safety: he had the same regard for me as though I had been his
brother. A few days later, when the rage of the river was spent, I
returned to my workshop, and finished the piece with such good
fortune, through God's grace and my own great industry, that it
was held to be the finest masterpiece which had been ever seen in
Rome. 141
When then I took it to the Pope, he was insatiable in praising me,
and said: "Were I but a wealthy emperor, I would give my
Benvenuto as much land as his eyes could survey; yet being nowa-
days but needy bankrupt potentates, we will at any rate give him
bread enough to satisfy his modest wishes." I let the Pope run on to
the end of his rhodomontade, 142 and then asked him for a mace-
bearer's place which happened to be vacant. He replied that he
would grant me something of far greater consequence. I begged
his Holiness to bestow this little thing on me meanwhile by way of
earnest. He began to laugh, and said he was willing, but that he did
not wish me to serve, and that I must make some arrangement
with the other mace-bearers to be exempted. He would allow them
through me a certain favour, for which they had already petitioned,
namely, the right of recovering their fees at law. This was accord-
ingly done; and that mace-bearer's office brought me in little
less than two hundred crowns a year. 148
LVI
I CONTINUED to work for the Pope, executing now one trifle and
now another, when he commissioned me to design a chalice of ex-
ceeding richness. So I made both drawing and model for the
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piece. The latter was constructed of wood and wax. Instead of the
usual top, I fashioned three figures of a fair size in the round; they
represented Faith, Hope, and Charity. Corresponding to these, at
the base of the cup, were three circular histories in bas-relief. One
was the Nativity of Christ, the second the Resurrection, and the
third S. Peter crucified head downwards; for thus I had received
commission. While I had this work in hand, the Pope was often
pleased to look at it; wherefore, observing that his Holiness had
never thought again of giving me anything, and knowing that a
post in the Piombo was vacant, I asked for this one evening. The
good Pope, quite oblivious of his extravagances at the termination
of the last piece, said to me: "That post in the Piombo is worth more
than eight hundred crowns a year, so that if I gave it you, you
would spend your time in scratching your paunch, 144 and your
magnificent handicraft would be lost, and I should bear the blame."
I replied at once as thus: "Cats of a good breed mouse better when
they are fat than starving; and likewise honest men who possess
some talent, exercise it to far nobler purport when they have the
wherewithal to live abundantly; wherefore princes who provide
such folk with competences, let your Holiness take notice, arc
watering the roots of genius; for genius and talent, at their birth,
come into this world lean and scabby; and your Holiness should
also know that I never asked for the place with the hope of get-
ting it. Only too happy I to have that miserable post of mace-
bearer. On the other I built but castles in the air. Your Holiness
will do well, since you do not care to give it me, to bestow it on a
man of talent who deserves it, and not upon some fat ignoramus
who will spend his time scratching his paunch, if I may quote your
Holiness's own words. Follow the example of Pope Giulio's illustri-
ous memory, who conferred an office of the same kind upon
Bramante, that most admirable architect."
Immediately on finishing this speech, I made my bow, and went
off in a fury. Then Bastiano Veneziano the painter approached, and
said: "Most blessed Father, may your Holiness be willing to grant
it to one who works assiduously in the exercise of some talent; and
as your Holiness knows that I am diligent in my art, I beg that
I may be thought worthy of it." The Pope replied: "That devil
Benvenuto will not brook rebuke. I was inclined to give it him, but
it is not right to be so haughty with a Pope. Therefore I do not
well know what I am to do." The Bishop of Vasona then came up,
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and put in a word for Bastiano, saying: "Most blessed Father,
Benvenuto is but young; and a sword becomes him better than a
friar's frock. Let your Holiness give the place to this ingenious
person Bastiano. Some time or other you will be able to bestow on
Benvenuto a good thing, perhaps more suitable to him than this
would be." Then the Pope, turning to Messer Bartolommeo Valori,
told him: "When next you meet Benvenuto, let him know from me
that it was he who got that office in the Piombo for Bastiano the
painter, and add that he may reckon on obtaining the next consider-
able place that falls; meanwhile let him look to his behaviour, and
finish my commissions." 145
The following evening, two hours after sundown, I met Messer
Bartolommeo Valori 146 at the corner of the Mint; he w'as preceded
by two torches, and was going in haste to the Pope, who had sent
for him. On my taking off my hat, he stopped and called me, and
reported in the most friendly manner all the messages the Pope had
sent me. I replied that I should complete my work with greater dili-
gence and application than any I had yet attempted, but without the
least hope of having any reward whatever from the Pope. Messer
Bartolommeo reproved me, saying that this was not the way in
which one ought to reply to the advances of a Pope. I answered that
I should be mad to reply otherwisemad if I based my hopes on
such promises, being certain to get nothing. So I departed, and went
off to my business.
Messer Bartolommeo must have reported my audacious speeches
to the Pope, and more perhaps than I had really said; for his Holi-
ness waited above two months before he sent to me, and during
that while nothing would have induced me to go uncalled for to the
palace. Yet he was dying with impatience to see the chalice, and
commissioned Messer Ruberto Pucci to give heed to what I was
about. 147 That right worthy fellow came daily to visit me, and
always gave me some kindly word, which I returned. The time
was drawing nigh now for the Pope to travel toward Bologna; 148
so at last, perceiving that I did not mean to come to him, he made
Messer Ruberto bid me bring my work, that he might see how I
was getting on. Accordingly, I took it; and having shown, as the
piece itself proved, that the most important part was finished, I
begged him to advance me five hundred crowns, pardy on account,
and pardy because I wanted gold to complete the chalice. The Pope
said: "Go on, go on at work till it is finished." I answered, as I took
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my leave, that I would finish it if he paid me the money. And so I
went away.
LVII
WHEN THE POPE took his journey to Bologna, he left Cardinal
Salviati as Legate of Rome, and gave him commission to push the
work that I was doing forward, adding: "Benvenuto is a fellow who
esteems his own great talents but slightly, and us less; look to it then
that you keep him always going, so that I may find the chalice
finished on my return."
That beast of a Cardinal sent for me after eight days, bidding me
bring the piece up. On this I went to him without the piece. No
sooner had I shown my face, than he called out: "Where is that
onion-stew of yours? 149 Have you got it ready?" I answered: "O
most reverend Monsignor, I have not got my onion-stew ready, nor
shall I make it ready, unless you give me onions to concoct it with."
At these words, the Cardinal, who looked more like a donkey than
a man, turned uglier by half than he was naturally; and wanting at
once to cut the matter short, cried out: "I'll send you to a galley,
and then perhaps you'll have the grace 160 to go on with your labour."
The bestial manners of the man made me a beast too; and I re-
torted: "Monsignor, send me to the galleys when I've done deeds
worthy of them; but for my present laches, I snap my fingers at your
galleys: and what is more, I tell you that, just because of you, I
will not set hand further to my piece. Don't send for me again, for
I won't appear, no, not if you summon me by the police."
After this, the good Cardinal tried several times to let me know
that I ought to go on working, and to bring him what I was doing
to look at. I only told his messengers: "Say to Monsignor that he
must send me onions, if he wants me to get my stew ready." Nor
gave I ever any other answer; so that he threw up the commission
in despair.
LVIII
THE POPE came back from Bologna, and sent at once for me, be-
cause the Cardinal had written the worst he could of my affairs in
his despatches. He was in the hottest rage imaginable, and bade me
come upon the instant with my piece. I obeyed. Now, while the
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Pope was staying at Bologna, I had suffered from an attack of in-
flammation in the eyes, so painful that I scarce could go on living
for the torment; and this was the chief reason why I had not carried
out my work. The trouble was so serious that I expected for cer-
tain to be left without my eyesight; and I had reckoned up the
sum on which I could subsist, if I were blind for life. Upon the
way to the Pope, I turned over in my mind what I should put
forward to excuse myself for not having been able to advance his
work. I thought that while he was inspecting the chalice, I might
tell him of my personal embarrassments. However, I was unable
to do so; for when I arrived in the presence, he broke out coarsely
at me: "Come here with your work; is it finished?" I displayed it;
and his temper rising, he exclaimed: "In God's truth I tell thee, thou
that makest it thy business to hold no man in regard, that, were
it not for decency and order, I would have thee chucked together
with thy work there out of windows." Accordingly, when I per-
ceived that the Pope had become no better than a vicious beast, my
chief anxiety was how I could manage to withdraw from his
presence. So, while he went on bullying, I tucked the piece beneath
my cape, and muttered under my breath: "The whole world could
not compel a blind man to execute such things as these." Raising his
voice stiU higher, the Pope shouted: "Come here; what say'st thou?"
I stayed in two minds, whether or not to dash at full speed down
the staircase; then I took my decision and threw myself upon my
knees, shouting as loudly as I could, for he too had not ceased from
shouting: "If an infirmity has blinded me, am I bound to go on
working?" He retorted: "You saw well enough to make your way
hither, and I don't believe one word of what you say." I answered,
for I noticed he had dropped his voice a little: "Let your Holiness
inquire of your physician, and you will find the truth out." He said:
"So ho! softly; at leisure we shall hear if what you say is so." Then,
perceiving that he was willing to give me hearing, I added: "I am
convinced that the only cause of this great trouble which has
happened to me is Cardinal Salviati; for he sent to me immediately
after your Holiness's departure, and when I presented myself, he
called my work a stew of onions, and told me he would send me
to complete it in a galley; and such was the effect upon me of his
knavish words, that in my passion I felt my face in flame, and so
intolerable a heat attacked my eyes that I could not find my own
way home. Two days afterwards, cataracts fell on both my eyes; I
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quite lose my sight, and after your Holiness's departure I have been
unable to work at all/'
Rising from my knees, I left the presence without further license.
It was afterwards reported to me that the Pope had said: "One
can give commissions, but not the prudence to perform them. I did
not tell the Cardinal to go so brutally about this business. 151 If it is
true that he is suffering from his eyes, of which I shall get informa-
tion through my doctor, one ought to make allowance for him."
A great gentleman, intimate with the Pope, and a man of very
distinguished parts, happened to be present. He asked who I was,
using terms like these: "Most blessed Father, pardon if I put a
question. I have seen you yield at one and the same time to the
hottest anger I ever observed, and then to the wannest compassion;
so I beg your Holiness to tell me who the man is; for if he is a
person worthy to be helped, I can teach him a secret which may
cure him of that infirmity." The Pope replied: "He is the great-
est artist who was ever born in his own craft; one day, when we
are together, I will show you some of his marvellous works, and
the man himself to boot; and I shall be pleased if we can see our
way toward doing something to assist him." Three days after this,
the Pope sent for me after dinner-time, and I found that great noble
in the presence. On my arrival, the Pope had my cope-button
brought, and I in the meantime drew forth my chalice. The noble-
man said, on looking at it, that he had never seen a more stupendous
piece of work* When the button came, he was still more struck with
wonder: and looking me straight in the face, he added: "The man
is young, I trow, to be so able in his art, and still apt enough to
learn much." He then asked me what my name was. I answered:
"My name is Benvenuto." He replied: "And Benvenuto shall I be
this day to you. Take flower-de-luces, stalk, blossom, root, together;
then decoct them over a slack fire; and with the liquid bathe your
eyes several times a day; you will most certainly be cured of that
weakness; but see that you purge first, and then go forward with
the lotion." The Pope gave me some kind words, and so I went
away half satisfied.
LIX
IT WAS TRUE INDEED that I had got the sickness; but I believe I caught
it from that fine young servant-girl whom I was keeping when my
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house was robbed. The French disease, for it was that, remained in
me more than four months dormant before it showed itself, and
then it broke out over my whole body at one instant. It was not
like what one commonly observes, but covered my flesh with
certain blisters, of the size of sixpences, and rose-coloured. The
doctors would not call it the French disease, albeit I told them
why I thought it was that. I went on treating myself according to
their methods, but derived no benefit. At last, then, I resolved on
taking the wood, against the advice of the first physicians in Rome; 153
and I took it with the most scrupulous discipline and rules of ab-
stinence that could be thought of; and after a few days, I perceived
in me a great amendment. The result was that at the end of fifty
days I was cured and as sound as a fish in the water.
Some time afterwards I sought to mend my shattered health, and
with this view I betook myself to shooting when the winter came in.
That amusement, however, led me to expose myself to wind and
water, and to staying out in marsh-lands; so that, after a few days,
I fell a hundred times more ill than I had been before. I put myself
once more under doctors' orders, and attended to their directions,
but grew always worse. When the fever fell upon me, I resolved
on having recourse again to the wood; but the doctors forbade it,
saying that if I took it with the fever on me, I should not have a
week to live. However, I made my mind up to disobey their orders,
observed the same diet as I had formerly adopted, and after drink-
ing the decoction four days, was wholly rid of fever. My health
improved enormously; and while I was following this cure, I went
on always working at the models of the chalice. I may add that,
during the time of that strict abstinence, I produced finer things
and of more exquisite invention than at any other period of my
life. After fifty days my health was re-established, and I continued
with the utmost care to keep it and confirm it. When at last I
ventured to relax my rigid diet, I found myself as wholly free from
those infirmities as though I had been born again. Although I took
pleasure in fortifying the health I so much longed for, yet I never
left off working; both the chalice and the Mint had certainly as much
of my attention as was due to them and to myself.
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LX
IT HAPPENED that Cardinal Salviati, who, as I have related, enter-
tained an old hostility against me, had been appointed Legate to
Parma. In that city a certain Milanese goldsmith, named Tobbia, was
taken up for false coining, and condemned to the gallows and the
stake. Representations in his favour, as being a man of great ability,
were made to the Cardinal, who suspended the execution of the
sentence, and wrote to the Pope, saying the best goldsmith in the
world had come into his hands, sentenced to death for coining false
money, but that he was a good simple fellow, who could plead in
his excuse that he had taken counsel with his confessor, and had
received, as he said, from him permission to do this. Thereto he
added: "If you send for this great artist to Rome, your Holiness
will bring down the overweening arrogance of your favourite
Benvenuto, and I am quite certain that Tobbia's work will please
you far more than his." The Pope accordingly sent for him at
once; and when the man arrived, he made us both appear before
him, and commissioned each of us to furnish a design for mounting
an unicorn's horn, the finest which had ever been seen, and which
had been sold for 17,000 ducats of the Camera. The Pope meant
to give it to King Francis; but first he wished it richly set in gold,
and ordered us to make sketches for this purpose. When they were
finished, we took them to the Pope. That of Tobbia was in the
form of a candlestick, the horn being stuck in it like a candle, and
at the base of the piece he had introduced four little unicorns 9 heads
of a very poor design. When I saw the thing, I could not refrain
from laughing gently in my sleeve. The Pope noticed this, and
cried: "Here, show me your sketch!" It was a single unicorn's head,
proportioned in size to the horn. I had designed the finest head
imaginable; for I took it partly from the horse and partly from the
stag, enriching it with fantastic mane and other ornaments. Ac-
cordingly, no sooner was it seen, than every one decided in my
favour. There were, however, present at the competition certain
Milanese gentlemen of the first consequence, who said: "Most
blessed Father, your Holiness is sending this magnificent present into
France; please to reflect that the French are people of no culture,
and will not understand the excellence of Benvenuto's work; pyxes
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like this one of Tobbia's will suit their taste well, and these too can
be finished quicker. 188 Benvenuto will devote himself to completing
your chalice, and will get two pieces done in the same time; more-
over, this poor man, whom you have brought to Rome, will have
the chance to be employed." The Pope, who was anxious to ob-
tain his chalice, very willingly adopted the advice of the Milanese
gentlefolk.
Next day, therefore, he commissioned Tobbia to mount the
unicorn's horn, and sent his Master of the Wardrobe to bid me
finish the chalice. 154 I replied that I desired nothing in the world
more than to complete the beautiful work I had begun: and if the
material had been anything but gold, I could very easily have done
so by myself; but it being gold, his Holiness must give me some of
the metal if he wanted me to get through with my work. To this
the vulgar courtier answered: "Zounds! don't ask the Pope for gold,
unless you mean to drive him into such a fury as will ruin you." I
said: "Oh, my good lord, will your lordship please to tell me how
one can make bread without flour? Even so without gold this piece
of mine cannot be finished." The Master of the Wardrobe, having
an inkling that I had made a fool of him, told me he should report
all I had spoken to his Holiness; and this he did. The Pope flew into
a bestial passion, and swore he would wait to see if I was so mad
as not to finish it. More than two months passed thus; and though
I had declared I would not give a stroke to the chalice, I did not do
so, but always went on working with the greatest interest. When he
perceived I was not going to bring it, he began to display real dis-
pleasure, and protested he would punish me in one way or another.
A jeweller from Milan in the Papal service happened to be present
when these words were spoken. He was called Pompeo, and was
closely related to Messer Traiano, the most favoured servant of
Pope Qement. The two men came, upon a common understanding,
to him and said: "If your Holiness were to deprive Benvenuto of
the Mint, perhaps he would take it into his head to complete the
chalice." To this the Pope answered: "No; two evil things would
happen: first, I should be ill served in the Mint, which concerns
me greatly; and secondly, I should certainly not get the chalice."
The two Milanese, observing the Pope indisposed towards me, at last
so far prevailed that he deprived me of the Mint, and gave it to a young
Perugian, commonly known as Fagiuolo. 1 " Pompeo came to in-
form me that his Holiness had taken my place in the Mint away,
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and that if I did not finish the chalice, he would deprive me of
other things besides. I retorted: "Tell his Holiness that he has de-
prived himself and not me of the Mint, and that he will be doing
the same with regard to those other things of which he speaks; and
that if he wants to confer the post on me again, nothing will induce
me to accept it." The graceless and unlucky fellow went off like
an arrow to find the Pope and report this conversation: he added
also something of his own invention. Eight days later, the Pope sent
the same man to tell me that he did not mean me to finish the
chalice, and wanted to have it back precisely at the point to which I
had already brought it. I told Pompeo: "This thing is not like the
Mint, which it was in his power to take away; but five hundred
crowns which I received belong to his Holiness, and I am ready to
return them; the piece itself is mine, and with it I shall do what
I think best." Pompeo ran off to report my speech, together with
some biting words which in my righteous anger I had let fly at
himself.
LXI
AFTER THE LAPSE of three days, on a Thursday, there came to me
two favourite Chamberlains of his Holiness; one of them is alive
now, and a bishop; he was called Messer Pier Giovanni, and was an
officer of the wardrobe; the other could claim nobler birth, but his
name has escaped me. On arriving they spoke as follows: "The Pope
hath sent us, Benvenuto; and since you have not chosen to comply
with his request on easy terms, his commands now are that either
you should give us up his piece, or that we should take you to
prison." Thereupon I looked them very cheerfully in the face, re-
plying: "My lords, if I were to give the work to his Holiness, I
should be giving what is mine and not his, and at present I have no
intention to make him this gift. I have brought it far forward with
great labour, and do not want it to go into the hands of some ignorant
beast who will destroy it with no trouble." While I spoke thus, the
goldsmith Tobbia was standing by, who even presumptuously asked
me for the models also of my work. What I retorted, in words
worthy of such a rascal, need not here be repeated. Then, when those
gentlemen, the Chamberlains, kept urging me to do quickly what
I meant to do, I told them I was ready. So I took my cape up, and
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
before I left the shop, I turned to an image of Christ, with solemn
reverence and cap in hand, praying as thus: "O gracious and un-
dying, just and holy our Lord, all the things thou doest are accord-
ing to thy justice, which hath no peer on earth. Thou knowest that
I have exactly reached the age of thirty, and that up to this hour I
was never threatened with a prison for any of my actions. Now
that it is thy will that I should go to prison, with all my heart I
thank thee for this dispensation." Thereat I turned round to the
two Chamberlains, and addressed them with a certain lowering look
I have: "A man of my quality deserved no meaner catchpoles than
your lordships: place me between you, and take me as your prisoner
where you like." Those two gentlemen, with the most perfect man-
ners, burst out laughing, and put me between them; and so we
went off, talking pleasantly, until they brought me to the Governor
of Rome, who was called II Magalotto. 1 *' When I reached him (and
the Procurator-Fiscal was with him, both waiting for me), the
Pope's Chamberlains, still laughing, said to the Governor: "We give
up to you this prisoner; now see you take good care of him. We are
very glad to have acted in the place of your agents; for Benvenuto
has told us that this being his first arrest, he deserved no catchpoles
of inferior station than we are." Immediately on leaving us, they
sought the Pope; and when they had minutely related the whole
matter, he made at first as though he would give way to passion, but
afterwards he put control upon himself and laughed because there
were then in the presence certain lords and cardinals, my friends,
who had warmly espoused my cause.
Meanwhile, the Governor and the Fiscal were at me, partly bully-
ing, partly expostulating, partly giving advice, and saying it was only
reason that a man who ordered work from another should be able
to withdraw it at his choice, and in any way which he thought best.
To this I replied that such proceedings were not warranted by jus-
tice, neither could a Pope act thus; for that a Pope is not of the
same kind as certain petty tyrant princes, who treat their folk as
badly as they can, without regard to law or justice; and so a Vicar
of Christ may not commit any of these acts of violence. Thereat
the Governor, assuming his police-court style of threatening and
bullying, began to say: "Benvenuto, Benvenuto, you are going about
to make me treat you as you deserve." "You will treat me with
honour and courtesy, if you wish to act as I deserve." Taking me
up again, he cried: "Send for the work at once, and don't wait for
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a second order." I responded: "My lords, grant me the favour of
being allowed to say four more words in my defence/ 9 The Fiscal,
who was a far more reasonable agent of police than the Governor,
turned to him and said: "Monsignor, suppose we let him say a hun-
dred words, if he likes: so long as he gives up the work, that is
enough for us." I spoke: "If any man you like to name had ordered
a palace or a house to be built, he could with justice tell the master-
mason: 'I do not want you to go on working at my house or
palace'; and after paying him his labour, he would have the right to
dismiss him. Likewise, if a nobleman gave commission for a jewel
of a thousand crowns' value to be set, when he saw that the jeweller
was not serving him according to his desire, he could say: 'Give
me back my stone, for I do not want your work.' But in a case of
this kind none of those considerations apply; there is neither house
nor jewel here; nobody can command me further than that I should
return the five hundred crowns which I have had. Therefore, mon-
signori, do everything you can do; for you will get nothing from
me beyond the five hundred crowns. Go and say this to the Pope.
Your threats do not frighten me at all; for I am an honest man, and
stand in no fear of my sins." The Governor and Fiscal rose, and said
they were going to the Pope, and should return with orders which
I should soon learn to my cost. So I remained there under guard. I
walked up and down a large hall, and they were about three hours
away before they came back from the Pope. In that while the flower
of our nation among the merchants came to visit me, imploring me
not to persist in contending with a Pope, for this might be the ruin
of me. I answered them that I had made my mind up quite well
what I wished to do.
LXII
No SOONER had the Governor returned, together with the Procurator,
from the palace, than he sent for me, and spoke to this effect:
"Benvcnuto, I am certainly sorry to come back from the Pope with
such commands as I have received; you must either produce the
chalice on the instant, or look to your affairs." Then I replied that
"inasmuch as I had never to that hour believed a holy Vicar of Christ
could commit an unjust act, so I should like to see it before I did
believe it; therefore do the utmost that you can." The Governor
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rejoined: "I have to report a couple of words more from the Pope
to you, and then I will execute die orders given me. He says that
you must bring your work to me here, and that after I have seen
it put into a box and sealed, I must take it to him. He engages his
word not to break the seal, and to return the piece to you untouched.
But this much he wants to have done, in order to preserve his own
honour in the affair." In return to this speech, I answered, laugh-
ing, that I would very willingly give up my work in the way he
mentioned, because I should be glad to know for certain what a
Pope's word was really worth.
Accordingly, I sent for my piece, and having had it sealed as
described, gave it up to him. The Governor repaired again to the
Pope, who took the box, according to what the Governor himself
told me, and turned it several times about. Then he asked the
Governor if he had seen the work; and he replied that he had, and that
it had been sealed up in his presence, and added that it had struck
him as a very admirable piece. Thereupon the Pope said: "You
shall tell Bcnvenuto that Popes have authority to bind and loose
things of far greater consequence than this"; and while thus speaking
he opened the box with some show of anger, taking off the string
and seals with which it was done up. Afterwards he paid it pro-
longed attention; and, as I subsequently heard, showed it to Tobbia
the goldsmith, who bestowed much praise upon it. Then the Pope
asked him if he felt equal to producing a piece in that style. On his
saying yes, the Pope told him to follow it out exactly; then turned
to the Governor and said: "See whether Benvenuto will give it up;
for if he does, he shall be paid the value fixed on it by men of knowl-
edge in this an; but if he is really bent on finishing it himself, let him
name a certain time; and if you are convinced that he means to do it,
let him have all the reasonable accommodations he may ask for." The
Governor replied: "Most blessed Father, I know the violent temper
of this young man; so let me have authority to give him a sound
rating after my own fashion." The Pope told him to do what he
liked with words, though he was sure he would make matters worse;
and if at last he could do nothing else, he must order me to take the
five hundred crowns to his jeweller, Pompeo.
The Governor returned, sent for me into his cabinet, and casting
one of his catchpole's glances, began to speak as follows: "Popes
have authority to loose and bind the whole world, and what they do
is immediately ratified in heaven. Behold your box, then, which has
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been opened and inspected by his Holiness." I lifted up my voice at
once, and said: "I thank God that now I have learned and can report
what the faith of Popes is made of." Then the Governor launched
out into brutal bullying words and gestures; but perceiving that they
came to nothing, he gave up his attempt as desperate, and spoke in
somewhat milder tones after this wise: "Benvenuto, I am very sorry
that you are so blind to your own interest; but since it is so, go and
take the five hundred crowns, when you think fit, to Pompeo." I
took my piece up, went away, and carried the crowns to Pompeo on
the instant. It is most likely that the Pope had counted on some want
of money or other opportunity preventing me from bringing so con-
siderable a sum at once, and was anxious in this way to repiece the
broken thread of my obedience. When then he saw Pompeo coming
to him with a smile upon his lips and the money in his hand, he
soundly rated him, and lamented that the affair had turned out so.
Then he said: "Go find Benvenuto in his shop, and treat him with
all the courtesies of which your ignorant and brutal nature is capa-
ble, and tell him that if he is willing to finish that piece for a reliquary
to hold the Corpus Domini when I walk in procession, I will allow
him the conveniences he wants in order to complete it; provided
only that he goes on working." Pompeo came to me, called me out-
side the shop, and heaped on me the most mawkish caresses of a
donkey, 187 reporting everything the Pope had ordered. I lost no
time in answering that "the greatest treasure I could wish for in the
world was to regain the favour of so great a Pope, which had been
lost to me, not indeed by my fault, but by the fault of my over-
whelming illness and the wickedness of those envious men who take
pleasure in making mischief; and since the Pope has plenty of serv-
ants, do not let him send you round again, if you value your life
. . . nay, look well to your safety. I shall not fail, by night or day,
to think and do everything I can in the Pope's service; and bear this
well in mind, that when you have reported these words to his Holi-
ness, you never in any way whatever meddle with the least of my
affairs, for I will make you recognise your errors by the punishment
they merit." The fellow related everything to the Pope, but in far
more brutal terms than I had used; and thus the matter rested for a
time while I again attended to my shop and business.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
LXIII
TOBBIA THE GOLDSMITH meanwhile worked at the setting and the
decoration of the unicorn's horn. The Pope, moreover, commis-
sioned him to begin the chalice upon the model he had seen in mine.
But when Tobbia came to show him what he had done, he was very
discontented, and greatly regretted that he had broken with me,
blaming all the other man's works and the people who had intro-
duced them to him; and several times Baccino della Croce came from
him to tell me that I must not neglect the reliquary. I answered that
I begged his Holiness to let me breathe a little after the great illness
I had suffered, and from which I was not as yet wholly free, adding
that I would make it clear to him that all the hours in which I could
work should be spent in his service. I had indeed begun to make his
portrait, and was executing a medal in secret. I fashioned the steel
dies for stamping this medal in my own house; while I kept a partner
in my workshop, who had been my prentice and was called Felice.
At that time, as is the wont of young men, I had fallen in love
with a Sicilian girl, who was exceedingly beautiful. On it becoming
clear that she returned my affection, her mother perceived how the
matter stood, and grew suspicious of what might happen. The truth
is that I had arranged to elope with the girl for a year to Florence,
unknown to her mother; but she, getting wind of this, left Rome
secretly one night, and went off in the direction of Naples. She gave
out that she was gone by Civiti Vecchia, but she really went by
Ostia. I followed them to Civita Vecchia, and did a multitude of
mad things to discover hen It would be too long to narrate them all
in detail; enough that I was on the point of losing my wits or dying.
After two months she wrote to me that she was in Sicily, extremely
unhappy. I meanwhile was indulging myself in all the pleasures man
can think of, and had engaged in another love affair, merely to
drown the memory of my real passion.
LXIV
IT HAPPENED through a variety of singular accidents that I became
intimate with a Sicilian priest, who was a man of very elevated
genius and well instructed in both Latin and Greek letters. In the
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course of conversation one day we were led to talk about the art
of necromancy; apropos of which I said: "Throughout my whole life
I have had the most intense desire to see or learn something of this
art." Thereto the priest replied: "A stout soul and a steadfast must
the man have who sets himself to such an enterprise." I answered
that of strength and steadfastness of soul I should have enough and
to spare, provided I found the opportunity. Then the priest said: "If
you have the heart to dare it, I will amply satisfy your curiosity.'*
Accordingly we agreed upon attempting the adventure.
The priest one evening made his preparations, and bade me find
a comrade, or not more than two. I invited Vincenzio Romoli, a very
dear friend of mine, and the priest took with him a native of Pistoja,
who also cultivated the black ait. We went together to the Coli-
seum; and there the priest, having arrayed himself in necromancer's
robes, began to describe circles on the earth with the finest cere-
monies that can be imagined. I must say that he had made us bring
precious perfumes and fire, and also drugs of fetid odour. When the
preliminaries were completed, he made the entrance into the circle;
and taking us by the hand, introduced us one by one inside it. Then
he assigned our several functions; to the necromancer, his comrade,
he gave the pentacle to hold; the other two of us had to look after
the fire and the perfumes; and then he began his incantations. This
lasted more than an hour and a half; when several legions appeared,
and the Coliseum was all full of devils. I was occupied with the
precious perfumes, and when the priest perceived in what numbers
they were present, he turned to me and said: "Benvenuto, ask them
something." I called on them to reunite me with my Sicilian
Angelica. That night we obtained no answer; but I enjoyed the
greatest satisfaction of my curiosity in such matters. The necro-
mancer said that we should have to go a second time, and that I
should obtain the full accomplishment of my request; but he wished
me to bring with me a little boy of pure virginity.
I chose one of my shop-lads, who was about twelve years old, and
invited Vincenzio Romoli again; and we also took a certain Agnolino
Gaddi, who was a very intimate friend of both. When we came once
more to the place appointed, the necromancer made just the same
preparations, attended by the same and even more impressive details.
Then he introduced us into the circle, which he had reconstructed
with art more admirable and yet more wondrous ceremonies. After-
wards he appointed my friend Vincenzio to the ordering of the per-
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fumes and die fire, and with him Agnolino Gaddi. He next placed
in my hand the pentacle, which he bid me turn toward the points
he indicated, and under the pentacle I held the little boy, my work-
man. Now the necromancer began to utter those awful invocations,
calling by name on multitudes of demons who are captains of their
legions, and these he summoned by the virtue and potency of God,
the Uncreated, Living, and Eternal, in phrases of the Hebrew, and
also of the Greek and Latin tongues; insomuch that in a short space
of time the whole Coliseum was full of a hundredfold as many as had
appeared upon the first occasion. Vincenzio Romoli, together with
Agnolino, tended the fire and heaped on quantities of precious per-
fumes. At the advice of the necromancer, I again demanded to be
reunited with Angelica. The sorcerer turned to me and said: "Hear
you what they have replied; that in the space of one month you will
be where she is?" Then once more he prayed me to stand firm by
him, because the legions were a thousandfold more than he had sum-
moned, and were the most dangerous of all the denizens of hell; and
now that they had settled what I asked, it behoved us to be civil to
them and dismiss them gently. On the other side, the boy, who was
beneath the pentacle, shrieked out in terror that a million of the
fiercest men were swarming round and threatening us. He said,
moreover, that four huge giants had appeared, who were striving to
force their way inside the circle. Meanwhile the necromancer, trem-
bling with fear, kept doing his best with mild and soft persuasions
to dismiss them. Vincenzio Romoli, who quaked like an aspen leaf,
looked after the perfumes. Though I was quite as frightened as the
rest of them, I tried to show it less, and inspired them all with mar-
vellous courage; but the truth is that I had given myself up for dead
when I saw the terror of the necromancer. The boy had stuck his
head between his knees, exclaiming: "This is how I will meet death,
for we are certainly dead men." Again I said to him: "These crea-
tures are all inferior to us, and what you see is only smoke and
shadow; so then raise your eyes." When he had raised them he cried
out: "The whole Coliseum is in flames, and the fire is advancing on
us"; then covering his face with his hands, he groaned again that he
was dead, and that he could not endure the sight longer. The necro-
mancer appealed for my support, entreating me to stand firm by him,
and to have assafetida flung upon the coals; so I turned to Vincenzio
Romoli, and told him to make the fumigation at once. While utter-
ing these words I looked at Agnolino Gaddi, whose eyes were start-
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ing from their sockets in his terror, and who was more than half
dead, and said to him: "Agnolo, in time and place like this we must
not yield to fright, but do the utmost to bestir ourselves; therefore,
up at once, and fling a handful of that assafetida upon the fire."
Agnolo, at the moment when he moved to do this, let fly such a
volley from his breech, that it was far more effectual than the assa-
fetida. 168 The boy, roused by that great stench and noise, lifted his
face a little, and hearing me laugh, he plucked up courage, and said
the devils were taking to flight tempestuously. So we abode thus
until the matin-bells began to sound. Then the boy told us again that
but few remained, and those were at a distance. When the necro-
mancer had concluded his ceremonies, he put off his wizard's robe,
and packed up a great bundle of books which he had brought with
him; then, all together, we issued with him from the circle, huddling
as close as we could to one another, especially the boy, who had got
into the middle, and taken the necromancer by his gown and me by
the cloak. All the while that we were going toward our houses in the
Banchi, he kept saying that two of the devils he had seen in the
Coliseum were gambolling in front of us, skipping now along the
roofs and now upon the ground. The necromancer assured me that,
often as he had entered magic circles, he had never met with such a
serious affair as this. He also tried to persuade me to assist him in
consecrating a book, by means of which we should extract immeas-
urable wealth, since we could call up fiends to show us where
treasures were, whereof the earth is full; and after this wise we
should become the richest of mankind; love affairs like mine were
nothing but vanities and follies without consequence. I replied that
if I were a Latin scholar I should be very willing to do what he sug-
gested. He continued to persuade me by arguing that Latin scholar-
ship was of no importance, and that, if he wanted, he could have
found plenty of good Latinists; but that he had never met with a
man of soul so firm as mine, and that I ought to follow his counsel.
Engaged in this conversation, we reached our homes, and each one
of us dreamed all that night of devils.
LXV
As WE WERE in the habit of meeting daily, the necromancer kept
urging me to join in his adventure. Accordingly, I asked him how
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long it would take, and where we should have to go. To this he
answered that we might get through with it in less than a month, and
that the most suitable locality for the purpose was the hill country
of Norcia; 109 a master of his in the art had indeed consecrated such
a book quite close to Rome, at a place called the Badia di Farfa; but
he had met with some difficulties there, which would not occur in
the mountains of Norcia; the peasants also of that district are people
to be trusted, and have some practice in these matters, so that at a
pinch they are able to render valuable assistance.
This priestly sorcerer moved me so by his persuasions that I was
well disposed to comply with his request; but I said I wanted first
to finish the medals I was making for the Pope. I had confided what
I was doing about them to him alone, begging him to keep my secret.
At the same time I never stopped asking bin if he believed that I
should be reunited to my Sicilian Angelica at the time appointed;
for the date was drawing near, and I thought it singular that I heard
nothing about her. The necromancer told me that it was quite cer-
tain I should find myself where she was, since the devils never break
their word when they promise, as they did on that occasion; but he
bade me keep my eyes open, and be on the lookout against some
accident which might happen to me in that connection, and put re-
straint upon myself to endure somewhat against my inclination, for
he could discern a great and imminent danger in it: well would it be
for me if I went with him to consecrate the book, since this would
avert the peril that menaced me, and would make us both most fortu-
nate.
I was beginning to hanker after the adventure more than he did;
but I said that a certain Maestro Giovanni of Castel Bolognese had
just come to Rome, very ingenious in the art of making medals of
the sort I made in steel, and that I thirsted for nothing more than
to compete with him and take the world by storm with some great
masterpiece, which I hoped would annihilate all those enemies of
mine by the force of genius and not the sword. 180 The sorcerer on
his side went on urging: "Nay, prithee, Benvenuto, come with me
and shun a great disaster which I see impending over you." How-
ever, I had made my mind up, come what would, to finish my medal,
and we were now approaching the end of the month. I was so
absorbed and enamoured by my work that I thought no more about
Angelica or anything of that kind, but gave my whole self up to it*
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LXVI
IT HAPPENED ONE DAY, close on the hours of vespers, that I had to go
at an unusual time for me from my house to my workshop; for I
ought to say that the latter was in the Banchi, while I lived behind
the Banchi, and went rarely to the shop; all my business there I left
in the hands of my partner, Felice. Having stayed a short while in
the workshop, I remembered that I had to say something to Ales-
sandro del Bene. So I arose, and when I reached the Banchi, I met
a man called Ser Benedetto, who was a great friend of mine. He was
a notary, born in Florence, son of a blind man who said prayers
about the streets for alms, and a Sienese by race. This Ser Benedetto
had been very many years at Naples; afterwards he had settled in
Rome, where he transacted business for some Sienese merchants of
the Chigi. 181 My partner had over and over again asked him for some
moneys which were due for certain little rings confided to Ser
Benedetto. That very day, meeting him in the Banchi, he demanded
his money rather roughly, as his wont was. Benedetto was walking
with his masters, and they, annoyed by the interruption, scolded him
sharply, saying they would be served by somebody else, in order not
to have to listen to such barking. Ser Benedetto did the best he could
to excuse himself, swore that he had paid the goldsmith, and said he
had no power to curb the rage of madmen. The Sienese took his
words ill, and dismissed him on the spot. Leaving them, he ran like
an arrow to my shop, probably to take revenge upon Felice. It
chanced that just in the middle of the street we met. I, who had
heard nothing of the matter, greeted him most kindly, according to
my custom, to which courtesy he replied with insults. Then what
the sorcerer had said flashed all at once upon my mind; and bridling
myself as well as I was able, in the way he bade me, I answered:
"Good brother Benedetto, don't fly into a rage with me, for I have
done you no harm, nor do I know anything about these affairs of
yours. Please go and finish what you have to do with Felice. He is
quite capable of giving you a proper answer; but inasmuch as I know
nothing about it, you are wrong to abuse me in this way, especially
as you are well aware that I am not the man to put up with insults."
He retorted that I knew everything, and that he was the man to
make me bear a heavier load than that, and that Felice and I were
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two great rascals. By this time a crowd had gathered round to hear
the quarrel. Provoked by his ugly words, I stooped and took up a
lump of mud for it had rained and hurled it with a quick and un-
premeditated movement at his face. He ducked his head, so that the
mud hit him in the middle of the skull. There was a stone in it with
several sharp angles, one of which striking him, he fell stunned like
a dead man: whereupon all the bystanders, seeing the great quantity
of blood, judged that he was really dead.
LXVII
WHILE HE WAS still lying on the ground, and people were preparing
to carry him away, Pompeo the jeweller passed by. The Pope had
sent for him to give orders about some jewels. Seeing the fellow
in such a miserable plight, he asked who had struck him; on which
they told him: "Benvenuto did it, but the stupid creature brought it
down upon himself." No sooner had Pompeo reached the Pope than
he began to speak: "Most blessed Father, Benvenuto has this very
moment murdered Tobbia; I saw it with my own eyes." On this the
Pope in a fury ordered the Governor, who was in the presence, to
take and hang me at once in the place where the homicide had been
committed, adding that he must do all he could to catch me, and not
appear again before him until he had hanged me.
When I saw the unfortunate Benedetto stretched upon the ground,
I thought at once of the peril I was in, considering the power of my
enemies, and what might ensue from this disaster. Making off, I took
refuge in the house of Messer Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the Camera,
with the intention of preparing as soon as possible to escape from
Rome. He, however, advised me not to be in such a hurry, for it
might turn out perhaps that the evil was not so great as I imagined;
and calling Messer Annibal Caro, who lived with him, bade him go
for information.
While these arrangements were being made, a Roman gentleman
appeared, who belonged to the household of Cardinal de' Medici, and
had been sent by him. 162 Taking Messer Giovanni and me apart, he
told us that the Cardinal had reported to him what the Pope said, and
that there was no way of helping me out of the scrape; it would be
best for me to shun the first fury of the storm by flight, and not to
risk myself in any house in Rome. Upon this gentleman's departure,
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Messer Giovanni looked me in the face as though he were about to
cry, and said: "Ah me! Ah woe is me! There is nothing I can do to
aid you!" I replied: "By God's means, I shall aid myself alone; only
I request you to put one of your horses at my disposition." They had
already saddled a black Turkish horse, the finest and the best in
Rome. I mounted with an arquebuse upon the saddle-bow, wound
up in readiness to fire, if need were. 162 * When I reached Ponte Sisto,
I found the whole of the Bargello's guard there, both horse and foot.
So, making a virtue of necessity, I put my horse boldly to a sharp
trot, and with God's grace, being somehow unperceived by them,
passed freely through. Then, with all the speed I could, I took the
road to Palombara, a fief of my lord Giovanbatista Savello, whence
I sent the horse back to Messer Giovanni, without, however, think-
ing it well to inform him where I was. 108 Lord Giovanbatista, after
very kindly entertaining me two days, advised me to remove and go
toward Naples till the storm blew over. So, providing me with com-
pany, he set me on the way to Naples.
While travelling, I met a sculptor of my acquaintance, who was
going to San Germano to finish the tomb of Piero de' Medici at
Monte Cassino. 104 His name was Solosmeo, and he gave me the news
that on the very evening of the fray, Pope Clement sent one of his
chamberlains to inquire how Tobbia was getting on. Finding him at
work, unharmed, and without even knowing anything about the
matter, the messenger went back and told the Pope, who turned
round to Pompeo and said: "You are a good-for-nothing rascal; but
I promise you well that you have stirred a snake up which will sting
you, and serve you right!" Then he addressed himself to Cardinal
de' Medici, and commissioned him to look after me, adding that he
should be very sorry to let me slip through his fingers. And so
Solosmeo and I went on our way singing toward Monte Cassino,
intending to pursue our journey thence in company toward Naples.
LXVIII
WHEN SOLOSMEO had inspected his affairs at Monte Cassino, we
resumed our journey; and having come within a mile of Naples, we
were met by an innkeeper, who invited us to his house; and said he
had been at Florence many years with Carlo Ginori; 1 * 5 adding, that
if we put up at his inn, he would treat us most kindly, for the reason
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that we both were Florentines. We told him frequently that we did
not want to go to him. However, he kept passing, sometimes in front
and sometimes behind, perpetually repeating that he would have us
stop at his hostelry. When this began to bore me, I asked if he could
tell me anything about a certain Sicilian woman called Beatrice, who
had a beautiful daughter named Angelica, and both were courtesans.
Taking it into his head that I was jeering him, he cried out: "God
send mischief to all courtesans and such as favour them!" Then he
set spurs to his horse, and made off as though he was resolved to
leave us. I felt some pleasure at having rid myself in so fair a manner
of that ass of an innkeeper; and yet I was rather the loser than the
gainer; for the great love I bore Angelica had come back to my
mind, and while I was conversing, not without some lover's sighs,
upon this subject with Solosmeo, we saw the man returning to us at
a gallop. When he drew up, he said: "Two or perhaps three days ago
a woman and a girl came back to a house in my neighbourhood;
they had the names you mentioned, but whether they are Sicilians
I cannot say." I answered: "Such power over me has that name of
Angelica, that I am now determined to put up at your inn."
We rode on all together with mine host into the town of Naples,
and descended at his house. Minutes seemed years to me till I had
put my things in order, which I did in the twinkling of an eye; then
I went to the house, which was not far from our inn, and found
there my Angelica, who greeted me with infinite demonstrations of
the most unbounded passion. I stayed with her from evenfall until
the following morning, and enjoyed such pleasure as I never had
before or since; but while drinking deep of this delight, it occurred
to my mind how exactly on that day the month expired, which had
been prophesied within the necromantic circle by the devils. So then
let every man who enters into relation with those spirits weigh well
the inestimable perils I have passed through!
LXIX
I HAPPENED to have in my purse a diamond, which I showed about
among the goldsmiths; and though I was but young, my reputation
as an able artist was so well known even at Naples that they wel-
comed me most warmly. Among others, I made acquaintance with a
most excellent companion, a jeweller, Messer Domenico Fontana by
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name. This worthy man left his shop for the three days that I spent
in Naples, nor ever quitted my company, but showed me many
admirable monuments of antiquity in the city and its neighbour-
hood. Moreover, he took me to pay my respects to the Viceroy of
Naples, who had let him know that he should like to see me. When
I presented myself to his Excellency, he received me with much
honour; 166 and while we were exchanging compliments, the diamond
which I have mentioned caught his eye. He made me show it him,
and prayed me, if I parted with it, to give him the refusal. Having
taken back the stone, I offered it again to his Excellency, adding that
the diamond and I were at his service. Then he said that the diamond
pleased him well, but that he should be much better pleased if I were
to stay with him; he would make such terms with me as would
cause me to feel satisfied. We spoke many words of courtesy on
both sides; and then coming to the merits of the diamond, his Excel-
lency bade me without hesitation name the price at which I valued
it. Accordingly I said that it was worth exactly two hundred crowns.
He rejoined that in his opinion I had not overvalued it; but that since
I had set it, and he knew me for the first artist in the world, it would
not make the same effect when mounted by another hand. To this
I said that I had not set the stone, and that it was not well set; its
brilliancy was due to its own excellence; and that if I were to mount
it afresh, I could make it show far better than it did. Then I put my
thumb-nail to the angles of its facets, took it from the ring, cleaned
it up a little, and handed it to the Viceroy. Delighted and astonished,
he wrote me out a cheque 167 for the two hundred crowns I had
demanded.
When I returned to my lodging, I found letters from the Cardinal
de' Medici, in which he told me to come back post-haste to Rome,
and to dismount without delay at the palace of his most reverend
lordship. I read the letter to my Angelica, who begged me with tears
of affection either to remain in Naples or to take her with me. I
replied that if she was disposed to come with me, I would give up
to her keeping the two hundred ducats I had received from the
Viceroy. Her mother, perceiving us in this close conversation, drew
nigh and said: "Benvenuto, if you want to take my daughter to
Rome, leave me a sum of fifteen ducats, to pay for my lying-in, and
then I will travel after you." I told the old harridan that I would
very gladly leave her thirty if she would give me my Angelica. We
made the bargain, and Angelica entreated me to buy her a gown of
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black velvet, because the stuff was cheap at Naples. I consented to
everything, sent for the velvet, settled its price and paid for it; then
the old woman, who thought me over head and ears in love, begged
for a gown of fine cloth for herself, as well as other outlays for her
sons, and a good bit more money than I had offered. I turned to her
with a pleasant air and said: "My dear Beatrice, are you satisfied
with what I offered?" She answered that she was not; thereupon I
said that what was not enough for her would be quite enough for
me; and having kissed Angelica, we parted, she with tears, and I with
laughter, and off at once I set for Rome.
LXX
I LEFT NAPLES by night with my money in my pocket, and this I did
to prevent being set upon or murdered, as is the way there; but when
I came to Selciata, 168 1 had to defend myself with great address and
bodily prowess from several horsemen who came out to assassinate
me. During the following days, after leaving Solosmeo at his work
in Monte Cassino, I came one morning to breakfast at the inn of
Adanagni; 169 and when I was near the house, I shot some birds with
my arqucbuse. An iron spike, which was in the lock of my musket,
tore my right hand. Though the wound was not of any conse-
quence, it seemed to be so, because it bled abundantly. Going into
the inn, I put my horse up, and ascended to a large gallery, where
I found a party of Neapolitan gentlemen just upon the point of sit-
ting down to table; they had with them a young woman of quality,
the loveliest I ever saw. At the moment when I entered the room I
was followed by a very brave young serving-man of mine holding a
big partisan in his hand. The sight of us, our arms, and the blood,
inspired those poor gentlemen with such terror, particularly as the
place was known to be a nest of murderers, that they rose from table
and called on God in a panic to protect them. I began to laugh, and
said that God had protected them already, for that I was a man to
defend them against whoever tried to do them harm. Then I asked
them for something to bind up my wounded hand; and the charming
lady took out a handkerchief richly embroidered with gold, wishing
to make a bandage with it. I refused; but she tore the piece in half,
and in the gentlest manner wrapt my hand up with her fingers. The
company thus having regained confidence, we dined together very
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
gaily; and when the meal was over, we all mounted and went off
together. The gentlemen, however, were not as yet quite at their
ease; so they left me in their cunning to entertain the lady, while
they kept at a short distance behind. I rode at her side upon a pretty
little horse of mine, making signs to my servant that he should keep
somewhat apart, which gave us the opportunity of discussing things
that are not sold by the apothecary. 170 In this way I journeyed to
Rome with the greatest enjoyment I have ever had.
When I got to Rome, I dismounted at the palace of Cardinal
de* Medici, and having obtained an audience of his most reverend
lordship, paid my respects, and thanked him warmly for my recall.
I then entreated him to secure me from imprisonment, and even from
a fine if that were possible. The Cardinal was very glad to see me;
told me to stand in no fear; then turned to one of his gentlemen,
called Messer Pier Antonio Pecci of Siena, ordering him to tell the
Bargello not to touch me. 171 He then asked him how the man was
going on whose head I had broken with the stone. Messer Pier
Antonio replied that he was very ill, and that he would probably be
even worse; for when he heard that I was coming back to Rome, he
swore he would die to serve me an ill turn. When the Cardinal heard
that, he burst into a fit of laughter, and cried: "The fellow could not
have taken a better way than this to make us know that he was born
a Sienese." After that he turned to me and said: "For our reputation
and your own, refrain these four or five days from going about in
the Banchi; after that go where you like, and let fools die at their
own pleasure."
I went home and set myself to finishing the medal which I had
begun, with the head of Pope Clement and a figure of Peace on the
reverse. The figure was a slender woman, dressed in very thin
drapery, gathered at the waist, with a little torch in her hand, which
was burning a heap of arms bound together like a trophy. In the
background I had shown part of a temple, where was Discord
chained with a load of fetters. Round about it ran a legend in these
words: Clauduntur belli port*. 172
During the time that I was finishing this medal, the man whom I
had wounded recovered, and the Pope kept incessantly asking for
me. I, however, avoided visiting Cardinal de' Medici; for whenever
I showed my face before him, his lordship gave me some commission
of importance, which hindered me from working at my medal to the
end Consequently Messer Pier Carnesecchi, who was a great favour-
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itc of the Pope's, undertook to keep me in sight, and let me adroidjr
understand how much the Pope desired my services. 178 1 told him
that in a few days I would prove to his Holiness that his service had
never been neglected by me.
LXXI
Nor MANY DAYS had passed before, my medal being finished, I
stamped it in gold, silver, and copper. After I had shown it to
Messer Pietro, he immediately introduced me to the Pope. It was
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on a day in April after dinner, and the weather very fine; the Pope
was in the Belvedere. After entering the presence, I put my medals
together with the dies of steel into his hand. He took them, and
recognising at once their mastery of art, looked Messer Piero in the
face and said: "The ancients never had such medals made for them
as these."
While he and the others were inspecting them, taking up now the
dies and now the medals in their hands, I began to speak as submis-
sively as I was able: "If a greater power had not controlled the
working of my inauspicious stars, and hindered that with which they
violently menaced me, your Holiness, without your fault or mine,
would have lost a faithful and loving servant. It must, most blessed
Father, be allowed that in those cases where men are risking all upon
one throw, it is not wrong to do as certain poor and simple men are
wont to say, who tell us we must mark seven times and cut once. 174
Your Holiness will remember how the malicious and lying tongue
of my bitter enemy so easily aroused your anger, that you ordered
the Governor to have me taken on the spot and hanged; but I have
no doubt that when you had become aware of the irreparable act
by which you would have wronged yourself, in cutting off from
you a servant such as even now your Holiness hath said he is, I am
sure, I repeat, that, before God and the world, you would have felt
no trifling twinges of remorse. Excellent and virtuous fathers, and
masters of like quality, ought not to let their arm in wrath descend
upon their sons and servants with such inconsiderate haste, seeing
that subsequent repentance will avail them nothing. But now that
God has overruled the malign influences of the stars and saved me
for your Holiness, I humbly beg you another time not to let yourself
so easily be stirred to rage against me."
The Pope had stopped from looking at the medals and was now
listening attentively to what I said. There were many noblemen of
the greatest consequence present, which made him blush a little, as it
were for shame; and not knowing how else to extricate himself from
this entanglement, he said that he could not remember having given
such an order. I changed the conversation in order to cover his
embarrassment. His Holiness then began to speak again about the
medals, and asked what method I had used to stamp them so mar-
vellously, large as they were; for he had never met with ancient
pieces of that size. We talked a little on this subject; but being not
quite easy that I might not begin another lecture sharper than the
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
last, he praised my medals, and said they gave him the greatest satis-
faction, but that he should like another reverse made according to
a fancy of his own, if it were possible to stamp them with two dif-
ferent patterns. I said that it was possible to do so. Then his Holiness
commissioned me to design the history of Moses when he strikes the
rock and water issues from it, with this motto: Ut bibat populus.*
At last he added: "Go, Benvenuto; you will not have finished it
before I have provided for your fortune." After I had taken leave,
the Pope proclaimed before the whole company that he would give
me enough to live on wealthily without the need of labouring for
any one but him. So I devoted myself entirely to working out this
reverse with the Moses on it.
LXXII
IN THE MEANTIME the Pope was taken ill, and his physicians thought
the case was dangerous. Accordingly my enemy began to be afraid
of me, and engaged some Neapolitan soldiers to do to me what he
was dreading I might do to him. 176 1 had therefore much trouble to
defend my poor life. In course of time, however, I completed the
reverse; and when I took it to the Pope, I found him in bed in a
most deplorable condition. Nevertheless, he received me with the
greatest kindness, and wished to inspect the medals and the dies. He
sent for spectacles and lights, but was unable to see anything clearly.
Then he began to fumble with his fingers at them, and having felt
them a short while, he fetched a deep sigh, and said to his attendants
that he was much concerned about me, but that if God gave him
back his health he would make it all right.
Three days afterwards the Pope died, and I was left with all my
labour lost; yet I plucked up courage, and told myself that these
medals had won me so much celebrity, that any Pope who was
elected would give me work to do, and peradventure bring me bet-
ter fortune. Thus I encouraged and put heart into myself, and
buried in oblivion all the injuries which Pompeo had done me. Then
putting on my arms and girding my sword, I went to San Piero, and
kissed the feet of the dead Pope, not without shedding tears. After-
wards I returned to the Banchi to look on at the great commotion
which always happens on such occasions.
While I was sitting in the street with several of my friends,
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Pompco went by, attended by ten men very well armed; and when
he came just opposite, he stopped, as though about to pick a quarrel
with myself. My companions, brave and adventurous young men,
made signs to me to draw my sword; but it flashed through my mind
that if I drew, some terrible mischief might result for persons who
were wholly innocent. Therefore I considered that it would be bet-
ter if I put my life to risk alone. When Pompeo had stood there time
enough to say two Ave Maries, he laughed derisively in my direc-
tion; and going off, his fellows also laughed and wagged their heads,
with many other insolent gestures. My companions wanted to begin
the fray at once; but I told them hotly that I was quite able to con-
duct my quarrels to an end by myself, and that I had no need of
stouter fighters than I was; so that each of them might mind his busi-
ness. My friends were angry and went off muttering. Now there was
among them my dearest comrade, named Albertaccio del Bene, own
brother to Alessandro and Albizzo, who is now a very rich man in
Lyons. He was the most redoubtable young man I ever knew, and
the most high-spirited, and loved me like himself; and insomuch as
he was well aware that my forbearance had not been inspired by
want of courage, but by the most daring bravery, for he knew me
down to the bottom of my nature, he took my words up and begged
me to favour him so far as to associate him with myself in all I meant
to do. I replied: "Dear Albertaccio, dearest to me above all men that
live, the time will very likely come when you shall give me aid; but
in this case, if you love me, do not attend to me, but look to your
own business, and go at once like our other friends, for now there
is no time to lose." These words were spoken in one breath.
LXXIII
IN THE MEANWHILE my enemies had proceeded slowly toward
Chiavica, as the place was called, and had arrived at the crossing of
several roads, going in different directions; but the street in which
Pompeo's house stood was the one which leads straight to the Campo
di Fiore. Some business or other made him enter the apothecary's
shop which stood at the corner of Chiavica, and there he stayed a
while transacting it. I had just been told that he had boasted of the
insult which he fancied he had put upon me; but be that as it may, it
was to his misfortune; for precisely when I came up to the corner,
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
he was leaving the shop, and his bravi had opened their ranks and
received him in their midst. I drew a little dagger with a sharpened
edge, and breaking the line of his defenders, laid my hands upon his
breast so quickly and coolly, that none of them were able to prevent
me. Then I aimed to strike him in the face; but fright made him turn
his head round; and I stabbed him just beneath the ear. I only gave
two blows, for he fell stone dead at the second. I had not meant to
kill him; but as the saying goes, knocks are not dealt by measure.
With my left hand I plucked back the dagger, and with my right
hand drew my sword to defend my life. However, all those bravi
ran up to the corpse and took no action against me; so I went back
alone through Strada Giulia, considering how best to put myself in
safety.
I had walked about three hundred paces, when Piloto the gold-
smith, my very good friend, came up and said: "Brother, now that
the mischief's done, we must see to saving you." I replied: "Let us
go to Albertaccio del Bene's house; it is only a few minutes since I
told him I should soon have need of him." When we arrived there,
Albertaccio and I embraced with measureless affection; and soon the
whole flower of the young men of the Banchi, of all nations except
the Milanese, came crowding in; and each and all made proffer of
their own life to save mine. Messer Luigi Rucellai also sent with mar-
vellous promptitude and courtesy to put his services at my disposal,
as did many other great folk of his station; for they all agreed in
blessing my hands, 177 judging that Pompeo had done me too great
and unforgivable an injury, and marvelling that I had put up with
him so long.
LXXIV
CARDINAL CORNARO, on hearing of the affair, despatched thirty sol-
diers, with as many partisans, pikes, and arquebuses, to bring me with
all due respect to his quarters. 178 This he did unasked; whereupon I
accepted the invitation, and went off with them, while more than
as many of the young men bore me company. Meanwhile, Messer
Traiano, Pompeo's relative and first chamberlain to the Pope, sent a
Milanese of high rank to Cardinal de' Medici, giving him news of the
great crime I had committed, and calling on his most reverend lord-
ship to chastise me. The Cardinal retorted on the spot: "His crime
would indeed have been great if he had not committed this lesser
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one; thank Messer Traiano from me for giving me this information
of a fact of which I had not heard before." Then he turned and in
presence of the nobleman said to the Bishop of Frulll 119 his gentle-
man and intimate acquaintance: "Search diligently after my friend
fienvenuto; I want to help and defend him; and whoso acts against
him acts against myself." The Milanese nobleman went back, much
disconcerted, while the Bishop of Frulli came to visit me at Cardinal
Cornaro's palace. Presenting himself to the Cardinal, he related how
Cardinal de' Medici had sent for Benvenuto, and wanted to be his
protector. Now Cardinal Cornaro, who had the touchy temper of a
bear, flew into a rage, and told the Bishop he was quite as well able
to defend me as Cardinal de' Medici. The Bishop, in reply, entreated
to be allowed to speak with me on some matters of his patron which
had nothing to do with the affair. Cornaro bade him for that day
make as though he had already talked with me.
Cardinal de' Medici was very angry. However, I went the follow-
ing night, without Cornaro's knowledge, and under good escort, to
pay him my respects. Then I begged him to grant me the favour
of leaving me where I was, and told him of the great courtesy which
Cornaro had shown me; adding that if his most reverend lordship
suffered me to stay, I should gain one friend the more in my hour
of need; otherwise his lordship might dispose of me exactly as he
thought best. He told me to do as I liked; so I returned to Cornaro's
palace, and a few days afterwards the Cardinal Farnese was elected
Pope. 180
After he had put affairs of greater consequence in order, the new
Pope sent for me, saying that he did not wish any one else to strike
his coins. To these words of his Holiness a gentleman very privately
acquainted with him, named Messer Latino Juvinale, made answer
that I was in hiding for a murder committed on the person of one
Pompeo of Milan, and set forth what could be argued for my justifi-
cation in the most favourable terms. 181 The Pope replied: "I knew
nothing of Pompeo's death, but plenty of Benvenuto's provocation;
so let a safe-conduct be at once made out for him, in order that he
may be placed in perfect security." A great friend of Pompeo's, who
was also intimate with the Pope, happened to be there; he was a
Milanese, called Messer Ambrogio. 182 This man said: "In the first
days of your papacy it were not well to grant pardons of this kind."
The Pope turned to him and answered: "You know less about such
matters than I do. Know then that men like Benvenuto, unique in
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
their profession, stand above the law; and how far more he, then,
who received the provocation I have heard of?" When my safe-
conduct had been drawn out, I began at once to serve him, and was
treated with the utmost favour.
LXXV
MESSER LATINO JUVINALE came to call on me, and gave me orders to
strike the coins of the Pope. This roused up all my enemies, who
began to look about how they should hinder me; but the Pope, per-
ceiving their drift, scolded them, and insisted that I should go on
working. I took the dies in hand, designing a S. Paul, surrounded with
this inscription: Vas electionis. This piece of money gave far more
satisfaction than the models of my competitors; so that the Pope
forbade any one else to speak to him of coins, since he wished me
only to have to do with them. This encouraged me to apply myself
with untroubled spirit to the task; and Messer Latino Juvinale, who
had received such orders from the Pope, used to introduce me to his
Holiness. I had it much at heart to recover the post of stamper to
the Mint; but on this point the Pope took advice, and then told me
I must first obtain pardon for the homicide, and this I should get at
the holy Marie's day in August through the Caporioni of Rome. 18 *
I may say that it is usual every year on this solemn festival to grant
the freedom of twelve outlaws to these officers. Meanwhile he prom-
ised to give me another safe-conduct, which should keep me in secu-
rity until that time.
When my enemies perceived that they were quite unable to devise
the means of keeping me out of the Mint, they resorted to another
expedient. The deceased Pompeo had left three thousand ducats as
dowry to an illegitimate daughter of his; and they contrived that a
certain favourite of Signor Pier Luigi, the Pope's son, should ask her
hand in marriage through the medium of his master. 184 Accordingly
the match came off; but this fellow was an insignificant country lad,
who had been brought up by his lordship; and, as folk said, he got
but little of the money, since his lordship laid his hands on it and had
the mind to use it. Now the husband of the girl, to please his wife,
begged the prince to have me taken up; and he promised to do so
when the first flush of my favour with the Pope had passed away.
Things stood so about two months, the servant always suing for his
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wife's dower, the master putting him off with pretexts, but assuring
the woman that he would certainly revenge her father's murder. I
obtained an inkling of these designs; yet I did not omit to present
myself pretty frequently to his lordship, who made show of treating
me with great distinction. He had, however, decided to do one or
other of two things either to have me assassinated, or to have me
taken up by the Bargello. Accordingly he commissioned a certain
little devil of a Corsican soldier in his service to do the trick as
cleverly as he could; 188 and my other enemies, with Messer Traiano
at the head of them, promised the fellow a reward of one hundred
crowns. He assured them that the job would be as easy as sucking a
fresh egg. Seeing into their plot, I went about with my eyes open
and with good attendance, wearing an under-coat and armlets of
mail, for which I had obtained permission.
The Corsican, influenced by avarice, hoped to gain the whole
sum of money without risk, and imagined himself capable of carry-
ing the matter through alone. Consequently, one day after dinner, he
had me sent for in the name of Signor Pier Luigi. I went off at once,
because his lordship had spoken of wanting to order several big
silver vases. Leaving my home in a hurry, armed however as usual,
I walked rapidly through Strada Giulia toward the Palazzo Farnesc,
not expecting to meet anybody at that hour of day. I had reached
the end of the street and was making toward the palace, when, my
habit being always to turn the corners wide, I observed the Corsican
get up and take his station in the middle of the road. Being prepared,
I was not in the least disconcerted; but kept upon my guard, and
slackening pace a little, drew nearer toward the wall, in order to
give the fellow a wide berth. He on his side came closer to the wall,
and when we were now within a short distance of each other, I
perceived by his gestures that he had it in his mind to do me a
mischief, and seeing me alone thus, thought he should succeed. Ac-
cordingly, I began to speak and said: "Brave soldier, if it had been
night, you might have said you had mistaken me, but since it is full
day, you know well enough who I am. I never had anything to do
with you, and never injured you, but should be well disposed to do
you service." He replied in a high-spirited way, without, however,
making room for me to pass, that he did not know what I was
saying. Then I answered: "I know very well indeed what you want,
and what you are saying; but the job which you have taken in
hand is more dangerous and difficult than you imagine, and may
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peradventure turn out the wrong way for you. Remember that
you have to do with a man who would defend himself against a
hundred; and the adventure you are on is not esteemed by men of
courage like yourself." Meanwhile I also was looking black as thun-
der, and each of us had changed colour. Folk too gathered round
us, for it had become clear that our words meant swords and
daggers. He then, not having the spirit to lay hands on me, cried out:
"We shall meet another time." I answered: "I am always glad to
meet honest men and those who show themselves as such."
When we parted, I went to his lordship's palace, and found he had
not sent for me. When I returned to my shop, the Corsican informed
me, through an intimate friend of his and mine, that I need not be
on my guard against him, since he wished to be my good brother;
but that I ought to be much upon my guard against others, seeing
I was in the greatest peril, for folk of much consequence had
sworn to have my life. I sent to thank him, and kept the best
lookout I could. Not many days after, a friend of mine informed
me that Signor Pier Luigi had given strict orders that I should be
taken that very evening. They told me this at twenty; whereupon
I spoke with some of my friends, who advised me to be off at once.
The order had been given for one hour after sunset; accordingly
at twenty-three I left in the post for Florence. It seems that when the
Corsican showed that he had not pluck enough to do the business
as he promised, Signor Pier Luigi on his own authority gave orders
to have me taken, merely to stop the mouth of Pompeo's daughter,
who was always clamouring to know where her dower had gone
to. When he was unable to gratify her in this matter of revenge
on either of the two plans he had formed, he bethought him of
another, which shall be related in its proper place.
LXXVI
I REACHED FLORENCE in due course, and paid my respects to the Duke
Alessandro, who greeted me with extraordinary kindness and pressed
me to remain in his service. There was then at Florence a sculptor
called II Tribolino, and we were gossips, for I had stood god-
father to his son. 186 In course of conversation he told me that a cer-
tain Giacopo del Sansovino, his first master, had sent for him; and
whereas he had never seen Venice, and because of the gains he ex-
[139]
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pected, he was very glad to go there. 187 On his asking me if I had
ever been at Venice, I said no; this made him invite me to accompany
him, and I agreed. So then I told Duke Alessandro that I wanted
first to go to Venice, and that afterwards I would return to serve
him. He exacted a formal promise to this effect, and bade me present
myself before I left the city. Next day, having made my prepara-
tions, I went to take leave of the Duke, whom I found in the palace
of the Pazzi, at that time inhabited by the wife and daughters of
Signer Lorenzo Qbo. 188 Having sent word to his Excellency that
I wished to set off for Venice with his good leave, Signer Cosimino
de' Medici, now Duke of Florence, returned with the answer that
I must go to Niccolo da Monte Aguto, who would give me fifty
golden crowns, which his Excellency bestowed on me in sign of
his good-will, and afterwards I must return to serve him.
I got the money from Niccolo, and then went to fetch Tribolo,
whom I found ready to start; and he asked me whether I had bound
my sword. I answered that a man on horseback about to take a
journey ought not to bind his sword. He said that the custom was
so in Florence, since a certain Ser Maurizio then held office, who was
capable of putting S. John the Baptist to the rack for any trifling
peccadillo. 189 Accordingly one had to carry one's sword bound
till the gates were passed. I laughed at this, and so we set off, join-
ing the courier to Venice, who was nicknamed II Lamentone. In
his company we travelled through Bologna, and arrived one evening
at Ferrara. There we halted at the inn of the Piazza, while Lamen-
tone went in search of some Florentine exiles, to take them let-
ters and messages from their wives. The Duke had given orders that
only the courier might talk to them, and no one else, under penalty
of incurring the same banishment as they had. Meanwhile, since it
was a little past the hour of twenty-two, Tribolo and I went to see
the Duke of Ferrara come back from Belfiore, where he had been
at a jousting match. There we met a number of exiles, who stared
at us as though they wished to make us speak with them. Tribolo,
who was the most timorous man that I have ever known, kept on
saying: "Do not look at them or talk to them, if you care to go
back to Florence." So we stayed, and saw the Duke return; after-
wards, when we regained our inn, we found Lamentone there. After
nightfall there appeared Niccol6 Benintendi, and his brother Piero,
and another old man, whom I believe to have been Jacopo Nardi, 190
together with some young fellows, who began immediately to ask
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the courier news, each man of his own family in Florence. 191 Tribolo
and I kept at a distance, in order to avoid speaking with them. After
they had talked a while with Lamentone, Niccolo Benintendi 192 said:
"I know those two men there very well; what's the reason they give
themselves such beastly airs, and will not talk to us?" Tribolo kept
begging me to hold my tongue, while Lamentone told them that
we had not the same permission as he had. Benintendi retorted
it was idiotic nonsense, adding "Pox take them," and other pretty
flowers of speech. Then I raised my head as gently as I could, and
said: "Dear gentlemen, you are able to do us serious injury, while
we cannot render you any assistance; and though you have flung
words at us which we are far from deserving, we do not mean on
that account to get into a rage with you." Thereupon old Nardi said
that I had spoken like a worthy young man as I was. But Niccolo
Benintendi shouted: "I snap my fingers at them and the Duke." 198
I replied that he was in the wrong toward us, since we had nothing
to do with him or his affairs. Old Nardi took our part, telling Benin-
tendi plainly that he was in the wrong, which made him go on
muttering insults. On this I bade him know that I could say and do
things to him which he would not like, and therefore he had better
mind his business, and let us alone. Once more he cried out that he
snapped his fingers at the Duke and us, and that we were all of us
a heap of donkeys. 194 I replied by giving him the lie direct and
drawing my sword. The old man, wanting to be first upon the stair-
case, tumbled down some steps, and all the rest of them came hud-
dling after him. I rushed onward, brandishing my sword along the
walls with fury, and shouting: "I will kill you all!" but I took good
care not to do them any harm, as I might too easily have done. In
the midst of this tumult the innkeeper screamed out; Lamentone
cried, "For God's sake, hold!" some of them exclaimed, "Oh me,
my head!" others, "Let me get out from here." In short, it was an
indescribable confusion; they looked like *a herd of swine. Then
the host came with a light, while I withdrew upstairs and put my
sword back in its scabbard. Lamentone told Niccolo Benintendi
that he had behaved very ill. The host said to him: "It is as much
as one's life is worth to draw swords here; and if the Duke were
to know of your brawling, he would have you hanged. I will not
do to you what you deserve; but take care you never show yourself
again in my inn, or it will be the worse for you." Our host then
came up to me, and when I began to make him my excuses, he would
li4'J
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
not suffer me to say a word, but told me that he knew I was en-
tirely in the right, and bade me be upon my guard against those men
upon my journey.
LXXVII
ASTER WE HAD SUPPED, a barge-man appeared, and offered to take
us to Venice. I asked if he would let us have the boat to ourselves;
he was willing, and so we made our bargain. In the morning we
rose early, and mounted our horses for the port, which is a few
miles distant from Ferrara. On arriving there, we found Niccol6
Benintendi's brother, with three comrades, waiting for me. They
had among them two lances, and I had bought a stout pike in Ferrara.
Being very well armed to boot, I was not at all frightened, as
Tribolo was, who cried: "God help us! those fellows are waiting
here to murder us." Lamentone turned to me and said: "The best
that you can do is to go back to Ferrara, for I see that the affair is
likely to be ugly; for Heaven's sake, Benvenuto, do not risk the
fury of these mad beasts." To which I replied: "Let us go forward,
for God helps those who have the right on their side; and you shall
see how I will help myself. Is not this boat engaged for us?" "Yes,"
said Lamentone. "Then we will stay in it without them, unless my
manhood has deserted me." I put spurs to my horse, and when I
was within fifty paces, dismounted and marched boldly forward
with my pike. Tribolo stopped behind, all huddled up upon his
horse, looking the very image of frost. Lamentone, the courier,
meanwhile, was swelling and snorting like the wind. That was his
usual habit; but now he did so more than he was wont, being in
doubt how this devilish affair would terminate. When I reached
the boat, the master presented himself and said that those Floren-
tine gentlemen wanted to embark in it with us, if I was willing. I
answered: "The boat is engaged for us and no one else, and it
grieves me to the heart that I am not able to have their company."
At these words a brave young man of the Magalotti family spoke
out: "Benvenuto, we will make you able to have it." To which I
answered: "If God and my good cause, together with my own
strength of body and mind, possess the will and the power, you
shall not make me able to have what you say." So saying I leapt into
the boat, and turning my pike's point against them, added: "I'll show
[14*]
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you with this weapon that I am not able." Wishing to prove he was
in earnest, Magalotti then seized his own and came toward me. I
sprang upon the gunwale and hit him such a blow, that, if he had
not tumbled backward, I must have pierced his body. His comrades,
in lieu of helping him, turned to fly; and when I saw that I could
kill him, instead of striking, I said: "Get up, brother; take your
arms and go away. I have shown you that I cannot do what I do
not want, and what I had the power to do I have not chosen to do."
Then I called for Tribolo, the boat-man, and Lamentone to embark;
and so we got under way for Venice. When we had gone ten
miles on the Po, we sighted those young men, who had got into
a skiff and caught us up; and when they were alongside, that
idiot Picro Bcnintcndi sang out to me: "Go thy ways this time,
Benvenuto; we shall meet in Venice." "Set out betimes then," I
shouted, "for I am coming, and any man can meet me where he
lists." In due course we arrived at Venice, when I applied to a brother
of Cardinal Cornaro, begging him to procure for me the favour of
being allowed to carry arms. He advised me to do so without hesita-
tion, saying that the worst risk I ran was that I might lose my sword.
LXXVIII
ACCORDINGLY I girded on my sword, and went to visit Jacopo del
Sansovino, the sculptor, who had sent for Tribolo. He received me
most kindly, and invited us to dinner, and we stayed with him. In
course of conversation with Tribolo, he told him that he had no
work to give him at the moment, but that he might call again.
Hearing this, I burst out laughing, and said pleasantly to Sansovino:
"Your house is too far off from his, if he must call again." Poor
Tribolo, all in dismay, exclaimed: "I have got your letter here, which
you wrote to bid me come." Sansovino rejoined that men of his sort,
men of worth and genius, were free to do that and greater things
besides. Tribolo shrugged up his shoulders and muttered: "Patience,
patience," several times. Thereupon, without regarding the copious
dinner which Sansovino had given me, I took the part of my com-
rade Tribolo, for he was in the right. All the while at table Sanso-
vino had never stopped chattering about his great achievements,
abusing Michel Agnolo and the rest of his fellow-sculptors, while
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he bragged and vaunted himself to the skies. This had so annoyed
me that not a single mouthful which I ate had tasted well; but I
refrained from saying more than these two words: "Messer Jacopo,
men of worth act like men of worth, and men of genius, who pro-
duce things beautiful and excellent, shine forth far better when
other people praise them than when they boast so confidently of
their own achievements." Upon this he and I rose from table blow-
ing off the steam of our choler. The same day, happening to pass
near the Rialto, I met Piero Benintendi in the company of some
men; and perceiving that they were going to pick a quarrel with
me, I turned into an apothecary's shop till the storm blew over.
Afterwards I learned that the young Magalotti, to whom I showed
that courtesy, had scolded them roundly; and thus the affair ended.
LXXIX
A FEW DAYS AFTERWARDS we set out on our return to Florence. We
lay one night at a place on this side Chioggia, on the left hand as
you go toward Ferrara. Here the host insisted upon being paid be-
fore we went to bed, and in his own way; and when I observed that
it was the custom everywhere else to pay in the morning, he an-
swered: "I insist on being paid overnight, and in my own way." I
retorted that men who wanted everything their own way ought to
make a world after their own fashion, since things were differently
managed here. Our host told me not to go on bothering his brains,
because he was determined to do as he had said. Tribolo stood
trembling with fear, and nudged me to keep quiet, lest they should
do something worse to us; so we paid them in the way they wanted,
and afterwards we retired to rest. We had, I must admit, the most
capital beds, new in every particular, and as clean as they could be.
Nevertheless I did not get one wink of sleep, because I kept on
thinking how I could revenge myself. At one time it came into my
head to set fire to his house; at another to cut the throats of four
fine horses which he had in the stable; I saw well enough that it was
easy for me to do all this; but I could not see how it was easy to
secure myself and my companion. At last I resolved to put my
things and my comrade's on board the boat; and so I did. When
the towing-horses had been harnessed to die cable, I ordered the
people not to stir before I returned, for I had left a pair of slippers
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
in my bedroom. Accordingly I went back to the inn and called our
host, who told me he had nothing to do with us, and that we might
go to Jericho. 105 There was a ragged stable-boy about, half asleep,
who cried out to me: "The master would not move to please the
Pope, because he has got a wench in bed with him, whom he has
been wanting this long while." Then he asked me for a tip, and I
gave him a few Venetian coppers, and told him to make the barge-
man wait till I had found my slippers and returned. I went upstairs,
took out a little knife as sharp as a razor, and cut the four beds that
I found there into ribbons. I had the satisfaction of knowing I had
done a damage of more than fifty crowns. Then I ran down to the
boat with some pieces of the bed-covers 196 in my pouch, and bade
the bargee start at once without delay. We had not gone far before
my gossip Tribolo said that he had left behind some little straps
belonging to his carpet-bag, and that he must be allowed to go back
for them. I answered that he need not take thought for a pair of
little straps, since I could make him as many big ones as he liked. 197
He told me I was always joking, but that he must really go back for
his straps. Then he began ordering the bargee to stop, while I kept
ordering him to go on. Meanwhile I informed my friend what kind
of trick I had played our host, and showed him specimens of the
bed-covers and other things, which threw him into such a quaking
fright that he roared out to the bargee: "On with you, on with you,
as quick as you can!" and never thought himself quite safe until we
reached the gates of Florence.
When we arrived there, Tribolo said: "Let us bind our swords
up, for the love of God; and play me no more of your games, I
beg; for all this while I've felt as though my guts were in the sauce-
pan." I made answer: "Gossip Tribolo, you need not tie your sword
up, for you have never loosed it"; and this I said at random, be-
cause I never once had seen him act the man upon that journey.
When he heard the remark, he looked at his sword and cried out:
"In God's name, you speak true! Here it is tied, just as I arranged
it before I left my house." My gossip deemed that I had been a bad
travelling companion to him, because I resented affronts and de-
fended myself against folk who would have done us injury. But I
deemed that he had acted a far worse part with regard to me by
never coming to my assistance at such pinches. Let him judge be-
tween us who stands by and has no personal interest in our ad-
ventures.
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LXXX
No SOONER had I dismounted than I went to visit Duke Alessandro,
and thanked him greatly for his present of the fifty crowns, telling
his Excellency that I was always ready to serve him according to
my abilities. He gave me orders at once to strike dies for his coinage;
and the first I made was a piece of forty soldi, with the Duke's
head on one side and San Cosimo and San Damiano on the other. 1 * 8
This was in silver, and it gave so much satisfaction that the Duke
did not hesitate to say they were the best pieces of money in
Christendom. The same said all Florence and every one who saw
them. Consequently I asked his Excellency to make me appoint-
ments, 1 ' 9 and to grant me the lodgings of the Mint. He bade me
remain in his service, and promised he would give me more than I
demanded. Meanwhile he said he had commissioned the Master of
the Mint, a certain Carlo Acciaiuoli, and that I might go to him
for all the money that I wanted. This I found to be true; but I drew
my moneys so discreetly, that I had always something to my credit,
according to my account.
I then made dies for a giulio; 200 it had San Giovanni in profile,
seated with a book in his hand, finer in my judgment than anything
which I had done; and on the other side were the armorial bearings
of Duke Alessandro. Next I made dies for half-giulios, on which
I struck the full face of San Giovanni in small. This was the first
coin with a head in full face on so thin a piece of silver that had
yet been seen. The difficulty of executing it is apparent only to the
eyes of such as arc past-masters in these crafts. Afterwards I made
dies for the golden crowns; this crown had a cross upon one side
with some little cherubim, and on the other side his Excellency's
arms.
When I had struck these four sorts, I begged the Duke to make
out my appointments and to assign me the lodgings I have men-
tioned, if he was contented with my service. He told me very gra-
ciously that he was quite satisfied, and that he would grant me my
request* While we were thus talking, his Excellency was in his
wardrobe, looking at a remarkable little gun that had been sent
him out of Germany. 201 When he noticed that I too paid particular
attention to this pretty instrument, he put it in my hands, saying
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that he knew how much pleasure I took in such things, and adding
that I might choose for earnest of his promises an arquebuse to
my own liking from the armoury, excepting only this one piece;
he was well aware that I should find things of greater beauty, and
not less excellent, there. Upon this invitation, I accepted with thanks;
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
and when he saw me looking round, he ordered his Master of the
Wardrobe, a certain Pretino of Lucca, to let me take whatever I
liked. 202 Then he went away with the most pleasant words at part-
ing, while I remained, and chose the finest and best arquebuse I ever
saw, or ever had, and took it back with me to home.
Two days afterward I brought some drawings which his Excel-
lency had commissioned for gold-work he wanted to give his wife,
who was at that time still in Naples. 208 I again asked him to settle
my affairs. Then his Excellency told me that he should like me first
to execute the die of his portrait in fine style, as I had done for
Pope Clement. I began it in wax; and the Duke gave orders, while
I was at work upon it, that whenever I went to take his portrait,
I should be admitted. Perceiving that I had a lengthy piece of busi-
ness on my hands, I sent for a certain Pietro Pagolo from Monte
Ritondo, in the Roman district, who had been with me from his
boyhood in Rome. 204 I found him with one Bernardonaccio, 205 a
goldsmith, who did not treat him well; so I brought him away from
there, and taught him minutely how to strike coins from those dies.
Meanwhile, I went on making the Duke's portrait; and oftentimes
I found him napping after dinner with that Lorenzino of his, who
afterwards murdered him, and no other company; and much I
marvelled that a Duke of that sort showed such confidence about
his safety. 206
LXXXI
IT HAPPENED AT THIS TIME that Ottaviano de' Medici, 20T who to all
appearance had got the government of everything in his own
hands, favoured the old Master of the Mint against the Duke's will.
This man was called Bastiano Cennini, an artist of the antiquated
school, and of little skill in his craft. 208 Ottaviano mixed his stupid dies
with mine in the coinage of crown-pieces. I complained of this to the
Duke, who, when he saw how the matter stood, took it very ill,
and said to me: "Go, tell this to Ottaviano de' Medici, and show him
how it is." 209 1 lost no time; and when I had pointed out the injury
that had been done to my fine coins, he answered, like the donkey
that he was: "We choose to have it so." I replied that it ought not
to be so, and that I did not choose to have it so. He said: "And if
the Duke likes to have it so?" I answered: "It would not suit me,
for the thing is neither just nor reasonable/' He told me to take
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myself off, and that I should have to swallow it in this way, even if
I burst. Then I returned to the Duke, and related the whole un-
pleasant conversation between Ottaviano de' Medici and me, en-
treating his Excellency not to allow the fine coins which I had
made for him to be spoiled, and begging for permission to leave
Florence. He replied: "Ottaviano is too presuming: you shall have
what you want; for this is an injury offered to myself."
That very day, which was a Thursday, I received from Rome a
full safe-conduct from the Pope, with advice to go there at once and
get the pardon of Our Lady's feast in mid-August, in order that I
might clear myself from the penalties attaching to my homicide. I
went to the Duke, whom I found in bed, for they told me he was
suffering the consequence of a debauch. In little more than two
hours I finished what was wanted for his waxen medal; and when
I showed it him, it pleased him extremely. Then I exhibited the
safe-conduct sent me at the order of the Pope, and told him how
his Holiness had recalled me to execute certain pieces of work; on
this account I should like to regain my footing in the fair city
of Rome, which would not prevent my attending to his medal.
The Duke made answer half in anger: "Benvenuto, do as I desire:
stay here; I will provide for your appointments, and will give you
the lodgings in the Mint, with much more than you could ask for,
because your requests are only just and reasonable. And who do you
think will be able to strike the beautiful dies which you have made
for me?" Then I said: "My Lord, I have thought of everything,
for I have here a pupil of mine, a young Roman whom I have taught
the art; he will serve your Excellency very very well till I return
with your medal finished, to remain forever in your service. I have
in Rome a shop open, with journeymen and a pretty business; as
soon as I have got my pardon, I will leave all the devotion of
Rome 210 to a pupil of mine there, and will come back, with your
Excellency's good permission, to you." During this conversation,
the Lorenzino de' Medici whom I have above mentioned was present,
and no one else. The Duke frequently signed to him that he should
join in pressing me to stay; but Lorenzino never said anything except:
"Benvenuto, you would do better to remain where you are." I
answered that I wanted by all means to regain my hold on Rome.
He made no reply, but continued eyeing die Duke with very evfl
glances. When I had finished the medal to my liking, and shut it in
its fitdc box, I said to the Duke: "My Lord, pray let me have your
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good-will, for I will make you a much finer medal than the one
I made for Pope Clement. It is only reasonable that I should, since
that was the first I ever made. Messer Lorenzo here will give me
some exquisite reverse, as he is a person learned and of the greatest
genius." To these words Lorenzo suddenly made answer: "I have
been thinking of nothing else but how to give you a reverse worthy
of his Excellency." The Duke laughed a little, and looking at Lo-
renzo, said: "Lorenzo, you shall give him the reverse, and he shall
do it here and shall not go away." Lorenzo took him up at once,
saying: "I will do it as quickly as I can, and I hope to do something
that shall make the whole world wonder." The Duke, who held
him sometimes for a fool and sometimes for a coward, turned
about in bed, and laughed at his bragging words. I took my leave
without further ceremony, and left them done together. The Duke,
who did not believe that I was really going, said nothing further.
Afterwards, when he knew that I was gone, he sent one of his
servants, who caught me up at Siena, and gave me fifty golden
ducats with a message from the Duke that I should take and use
them for his sake, and should return as soon as possible; "and from
Messer Lorenzo I have to tell you that he is preparing an admirable
reverse for that medal which you want to make." I had left full
directions to Pietro Pagolo, the Roman above mentioned, how he
had to use the dies; but as it was a very delicate affair, he never
quite succeeded in employing them. I remained creditor to the
Mint in a matter of more than seventy crowns on account of dies
supplied by me.
LXXXII
ON THE JOURNEY to Rome I carried with me that handsome arque-
buse which the Duke gave me; and very much to my own pleasure,
I used it several times by the way, performing incredible feats by
means of it. The little house I had in Strada Giulia was not ready; so
I dismounted at the house of Messer Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the
Camera, to whose keeping I had committed, on leaving Rome, many
of my arms and other things I cared for. So I did not choose to
alight at my shop, but sent for Felice, my partner, and got him to
put my little dwelling forthwith into excellent order. The day fol-
lowing, I went to sleep there, after well providing myself with
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clothes and all things requisite, since I intended to go and thank the
Pope next morning.
I had two young serving-lads, and beneath my lodgings lived
a laundress who cooked extremely nicely for me. That evening I
entertained several friends at supper, and having passed the time with
great enjoyment, betook myself to bed. The night had hardly
ended, indeed it was more than an hour before daybreak, when I
heard a furious knocking at the house-door, stroke succeeding stroke
without a moment's pause. Accordingly I called my elder servant,
Cencio 211 (he was the man I took into the necromantic circle), and
bade him go and see who the madman was that knocked so brutally
at that hour of the night. While Cencio was on this errand, I lighted
another lamp, for I always keep one by me at night; then I made
haste to pass an excellent coat of mail over my shirt, and above that
some clothes which I caught up at random. Cencio returned, ex-
claiming: "Heavens, master! it is the Bargello and all his guard; and
he says that if you do not open at once, he will knock the door
down. They have torches, and a thousand things besides with them!"
I answered: "Tell them that I am huddling my clothes on, and will
come out to them in my shirt." Supposing it was a trap laid to
murder me, as had before been done by Signer Pier Luigi, I seized
an excellent dagger with my right hand, and with the left I took
the safe-conduct; then I ran to the back-window, which looked out
on gardens, and there I saw more than thirty constables; wherefore I
knew that I could not escape upon that side. I made the two lads go
in front, and told them to open the door exactly when I gave the
word to do so. Then taking up an attitude of defence, with the
dagger in my right hand and the safe-conduct in my left, I cried
to the lads: "Have no fear, but open!" The Bargello, Vittorio, and
the officers sprang inside at once, thinking they could easily lay
hands upon me; but when they saw me prepared in that way to re-
ceive them, they fell back, exclaiming: "We have a serious job on
hand here!" Then I threw the safe-conduct to them, and said: "Read
that! and since you cannot seize me, I do not mean that you shall
touch me." The Bargello upon this ordered some of his men to ar-
rest me, saying he would look to the safe-conduct later. Thereat I
presented my arms boldly, calling aloud: "Let God defend the right!
Either I shall escape your hands alive, or be taken a dead corpse!"
The room was crammed with men; they made as though they would
resort to violence; I stood upon my guard against them; so that the
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Bargello saw he would not be able to have me except in the way I
said. Accordingly he called his clerk, and while the safe-conduct was
being read, he showed by signs two or three times that he meant to
have me secured by his officers; but this had no effect of shaking
my determination. At last they gave up the attempt, threw my safe-
conduct on the ground, and went away without their prize.
LXXXIII
WHEN i RETURNED TO BED, I felt so agitated that I could not get to
sleep again. My mind was made up to let blood as soon as day broke.
However, I asked advice of Messer Gaddi, and he referred to a
wretched doctor-fellow he employed, 212 who asked me if I had
been frightened. Now, just consider what a judicious doctor this
was, after I had narrated an occurrence of that gravity, to ask me
such a question! He was an empty fribbler, who kept perpetually
laughing about nothing at all. Simpering and sniggering, then, he
bade me drink a good cup of Greek wine, keep my spirits up, and
not be frightened. Messer Giovanni, however, said: "Master, a man
of bronze or marble might be frightened in such circumstances.
How much more one of flesh and blood!" The quack responded:
"Monsignor, we are not all made after the same pattern; this fellow
is no man of bronze or marble, but of pure iron." Then he gave one
of his meaningless laughs, and putting his fingers on my wrist, said:
"Feel here; this is not a man's pulse, but a lion's or a dragon's." At
this, I, whose blood was thumping in my veins, probably far beyond
anything which that fool of a doctor had learned from his Hippoc-
rates or Galen, knew at once how serious was my situation; yet,
wishing not to add to my uneasiness and to the harm I had already
taken, I made show of being in good spirits. While this was happen-
ing, Messer Giovanni had ordered dinner, and we all of us sat down
to eat in company. I remembered that Messer Lodovico da Fano,
Messer Antonio Allegretti, Messer Giovanni Greco, all of them men
of the finest scholarship, and Messer Annibal Caro, who was then
quite young, were present. At table the conversation turned en-
tirely upon my act of daring. They insisted on hearing the whole
story over and over again from my apprentice Cencio, who was a
youth of superlative talent, bravery, and extreme personal beauty.
Each time that he described my truculent behaviour, throwing him-
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self into the attitudes I had assumed, and repeating the words which
I had used, he called up some fresh detail to my memory. They kept
asking him if he had been afraid; to which he answered that they
ought to ask me if I had been afraid, because he felt precisely the
same as I had.
All this chattering grew irksome to me; and since I still felt
strongly agitated, I rose at last from table, saying that I wanted to
go and get new clothes of blue silk and stuff for him and me; adding
that I meant to walk in procession after four days at the feast of Our
Lady, and meant Cencio to carry a white lighted torch on the occa-
sion. Accordingly I took my leave, and had the blue cloth cut, to-
gether with a handsome jacket of blue sarcenet and a little doublet
of the same; and I had a similar jacket and waistcoat made for
Cencio.
When these things had been cut out, I went to see the Pope, who
told me to speak with Messer Ambruogio; for he had given orders
that I should execute a large piece of golden plate. So I went to
find Messer Ambruogio, who had heard the whole of the affair of the
Bargello, and had been in concert with my enemies to bring me
back to Rome, and had scolded the Bargello for not laying hands
on me. The man excused himself by saying that he could not do
so in the face of the safe-conduct which I held. Messer Ambruogio
now began to talk about the Pope's commission, and bade me make
drawings for it, saying that the business should be put at once in
train. Meanwhile the feast of Our Lady came round. Now it is
the custom for those who get a pardon upon this occasion to give
themselves up to prison; in order to avoid doing which I returned
to the Pope, and told his Holiness that I was very unwilling to go to
prison, and that I begged him to grant me the favour of a dispensa-
tion. The Pope answered that such was the custom, and that I
must follow it. Thereupon I fell again upon my knees, and thanked
him for the safe-conduct he had given me, saying at the same time
that I should go back with it to serve my Duke in Florence, who
was waiting for me so impatiently. On hearing this, the Pope turned
to one of his confidential servants and said: "Let Benvenuto get his
grace without the prison, and see that his moto proprio is made out
in due form." As soon as the document had been drawn up, his
Holiness signed it; it was then registered at the Capitol; afterwards,
upon the day appointed, I walked in procession very honourably
between two gentlemen, and so got clear at last.
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LXXXIV
FOUR DAYS HAD PASSED when I was attacked with violent fever
attended by extreme cold; and taking to my bed, I made my mind
up that I was sure to die. I had the first doctors of Rome called in,
among whom was Francesco da Norcia, a physician of great age,
and of the best repute in Rome. 218 I told them what I believed to
be the cause of my illness, and said that I had wished to let blood,
but that I had been advised against it; and if it was not too late, I
begged them to bleed me now. Maestro Francesco answered that
it would not be well for me to let blood then, but that if I had
done so before, I should have escaped without mischief; at present
they would have to treat the case with other remedies. So they
began to doctor me as energetically as they were able, while I grew
daily worse and worse so rapidly, that after eight days the physicians
despaired of my life, and said that I might be indulged in any whim
I had to make me comfortable. Maestro Francesco added: "As long
as there is breath in him, call me at all hours; for no one can divine
what Nature is able to work in a young man of this kind; more-
over, if he should lose consciousness, administer these five remedies
one after the other, and send for me, for I will come at any hour of
the night; I would rather save him than any of the cardinals in
Rome."
Every day Messer Giovanni Gaddi came to see me two or three
times, and each time he took up one or other of my handsome
fowling-pieces, coats of mail, or swords, using words like these:
"That is a handsome thing, that other is still handsomer'*; and like-
wise with my models and other trifles, so that at last he drove me
wild with annoyance. In his company came a certain Mattio
Franzesi; 214 and this man also appeared to be waiting impatiently for
my death, not indeed because he would inherit anything from me,
but because he wished for what his master seemed to have so much
at heart.
Felice, my partner, was always at my side, rendering the greatest
services which it is possible for one man to give another. Nature in
me was utterly debilitated and undone; I had not strength enough
to fetch my breath back if it left me; and yet my brain remained as
clear and strong as it had been before my illness. Nevertheless, al-
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though I kept my consciousness, a terrible old man used to come to
my bedside, and make as though he would drag me by force into a
huge boat he had with him. This made me call out to my Felice
to draw near and chase that malignant old man away. Felice, who
loved me most affectionately, ran weeping and crying: "Away with
you, old traitor; you are robbing me of all the good I have in this
world." Messer Giovanni Gaddi, who was present, then began to
say: "The poor fellow is delirious, and has only a few hours to
live." His fellow, Mattio Franzesi, remarked: "He has read Dante,
and in the prostration of his sickness this apparition has appeared to
him"; 215 then he added laughingly: "Away with you, old rascal,
and don't bother our friend Benvenuto." When I saw that they
were making fun of me, I turned to Messer Gaddi and said: "My
dear master, know that I am not raving, and that it is true that this
old man is really giving me annoyance; but the best that you can
do for me would be to drive that miserable Mattio from my side,
who is laughing at my affliction; afterwards if your lordship deigns
to visit me again, let me beg you to come with Messer Antonio
Allegretti, or with Messer Annibal Caro, or with some other of
your accomplished friends, who are persons of quite different in-
telligence and discretion from that beast." Thereupon Messer Gio-
vanni told Mattio in jest to take himself out of his sight forever;
but because Mattio went on laughing, the joke turned to earnest,
for Messer Giovanni would not look upon him again, but sent for
Messer Antonio Allegretti, Messer Ludovico, and Messer Annibal
Caro. On the arrival of these worthy men, I was greatly comforted,
and talked reasonably with them awhile, not however without fre-
quently urging Felice to drive the old man away. Messer Ludovico
asked me what it was I seemed to see, and how the man was shaped.
While I portrayed him accurately in words, the old man took me
by the arm and dragged me violently towards him. This made me
cry out for aid, because he was going to fling me under hatches in
his hideous boat. On saying that last word, I fell into a terrible
swoon, and seemed to be sinking down into the boat. They say that
during that fainting-fit I flung myself about and cast bad words
at Messer Giovanni Gaddi, to wit, that he came to rob me, and not
from any motive of charity, and other insults of the kind, which
caused him to be much ashamed. Later on, they say I lay still like
one dead; and after waiting by me more than an hour, thinking I
was growing cold, they left me for dead. When they returned home,
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Mattio Franzesi was informed, who wrote to Florence to Messer
Benedetto Varchi, my very dear friend, that they had seen me die
at such and such an hour of the night. When he heard the news,
that most accomplished man and my dear friend composed an ad-
mirable sonnet upon my supposed but not real death, which shall
be reported in its proper place.
More than three long hours passed, and yet I did not regain con-
sciousness. Felice having used all the remedies prescribed by Maestro
Francesco, and seeing that I did not come to, ran post-haste to the
physician's door, and knocked so loudly that he woke him up, and
made him rise, and begged him with tears to come to the house,
for he thought that I was dead. Whereto Maestro Francesco, who
was a very choleric man, replied: "My son, of what use do you
think I should be if I came? If he is dead, I am more sorry than
you are. Do you imagine that if I were to come with my medicine
I could blow breath up through his guts 216 and bring him back to life
for you?" But when he saw that the poor young fellow was going
away weeping, he called him back and gave him an oil with which to
anoint my pulses and my heart, telling him to pinch my little fingers
and toes very tightly, and to send at once to call him if I should
revive. Felice took his way, and did as Maestro Francesco had
ordered. It was almost bright day when, thinking they would have
to abandon hope, they gave orders to have my shroud made and to
wash me. Suddenly I regained consciousness, and called out to
Felice to drive away the old man on the moment, who kept torment-
ing me. He wanted to send for Maestro Francesco, but I told him
not to do so, but to come close up to me, because that old man was
afraid of him and went away at once. So Felice drew near to the
bed; I touched him, and it seemed to me that the infuriated old
man withdrew; so I prayed him not to leave me for a second.
When Maestro Francesco appeared, he said it was his dearest
wish to save my life, and that he had never in all his days seen
greater force in a young man than I had. Then he sat down to
write, and prescribed for me perfumes, lotions, unctions, plasters,
and a heap of other precious things. Meanwhile I came to life again
by the means of more than twenty leeches applied to my buttocks,
but with my body bored through, bound, and ground to powder.
Many of my friends crowded in to behold the miracle of the re-
suscitated dead man, and among them people of the first importance.
In their presence I declared that the small amount of gold and
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money I possessed, perhaps some eight hundred crowns, what with
gold, silver, jewels, and cash, should be given by my will to my poor
sister in Florence, called Mona Liperata; all the remainder of my
property, armour and everything besides, I left to my dearest Felice,
together with fifty golden ducats, in order that he might buy
mourning. At those words Felice flung his arms around my neck,
protesting that he wanted nothing but to have me as he wished
alive with him. Then I said: "If you want me alive, touch me as
you did before, and threaten the old man, for he is afraid of you."
At these words some of the folk were terrified, knowing that I was
not raving, but talking to the purpose and with all my wits. Thus
my wretched malady went dragging on, and I got but little better.
Maestro Francesco, that most excellent man, came four or five
times a day; Messer Giovanni Gaddi, who felt ashamed, did not
visit me again. My brother-in-law, the husband of my sister, ar-
rived; he came from Florence for the inheritance; but as he was a
very worthy man, he rejoiced exceedingly to have found me alive.
The sight of him did me a world of good, and he began to caress
me at once, saying he had only come to take care of me in person;
and this he did for several days. Afterwards I sent him away, having
almost certain hope of my recovery. On this occasion he left the
sonnet of Messer Benedetto Varchi, which runs as follows: 217
"Who shall, MattiOy yield our pain relief?
Who shall forbid the sad expense of tears?
Alas! 'tis true that in his youthful years
Our friend hath flown, and left us here to grief.
He had gone up to heaven, 'who 'was the chief
Of men renowned in art's immortal spheres;
Among the mighty dead he had no peers,
Nor shall earth see his like, in my belief.
O gentle sprite! if love still sway the blest,
Look down on him thou here didst love, and view
These tears that mourn my loss, not thy great good.
There dost thou gaze on His beatitude
Who made our universe, and findest true
The form of Him thy skill for men expressed."
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
LXXXV
MY SICKNESS had been of such a very serious nature that it seemed
impossible for me to fling it off. That worthy man Maestro Fran-
cesco da Norcia redoubled his efforts, and brought me every day
fresh remedies, trying to restore strength to my miserable unstrung
frame. Yet all these endeavours were apparently insufficient to over-
come the obstinacy of my malady, so that the pHysicians were in
despair and at their wits' ends what to do. I was tormented by thirst,
but had abstained from drinking for many days according to the
doctors' orders. Felice, w r ho thought he had done wonders in restor-
ing me, never left my side. That old man ceased to give so much
annoyance, yet sometimes he appeared to me in dreams.
One day Felice had gone out of doors, leaving me under the care
of a young apprentice and a servant-maid called Beatrice. I asked
the apprentice what had become of my lad Cencio, and what was
the reason why I had never seen him in attendance on me. The boy
replied that Cencio had been far more ill than I was, and that he was
even at death's door. Felice had given them orders not to speak to
me of this. On hearing the news, I was exceedingly distressed; then
I called the maid Beatrice, a Pistojan girl, and asked her to bring me
a great crystal water-cooler which stood near, full of clear and fresh
water. She ran at once, and brought it to me full; I told her to put
it to my lips, adding that if she let me take a draught according to
my heart's content, I would give her a new gown. This maid had
stolen from me certain little things of some importance, and in her
fear of being detected, she would have been very glad if I had died.
Accordingly she allowed me twice to take as much as I could of the
water, so that in good earnest I swallowed more than a flask full. 218
I then covered myself, and began to sweat, and fell into a deep sleep.
After I had slept about an hour, Felice came home and asked the
boy how I was getting on. He answered: "I do not know. Beatrice
brought him that cooler full of water, and he has drunk almost the
whole of it. I don't know now whether he is alive or dead." They
say that my poor friend was on the point of falling to the ground,
so grieved was he to hear this. Afterwards he took an ugly stick and
began to beat the serving-girl with all his might, shouting out: "Ah!
traitress, you have killed him for me then?" While Felice was cudgel-
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ling and she screaming, I was in a dream; I thought the old man held
ropes in his hand, and while he was preparing to bind me, Felice
had arrived and struck him with an axe, so that the old man fled,
exclaiming: "Let me go, and I promise not to return for a long
while." Beatrice in the meantime had run into my bedroom shrieking
loudly. This woke me up, and I called out: "Leave her alone; per-
haps, when she meant to do me harm, she did me more good than
you were able to do with all your efforts. She may indeed have saved
my life; so lend me a helping hand, for I have sweated; and be quick
about it." Felice recovered his spirits, dried and made'me comfort-
able; and I, being conscious of a great improvement in my state,
began to reckon on recovery.
When Maestro Francesco appeared and saw my great improve-
ment, and the servant-girl in tears, and the prentice running to and
fro, and Felice laughing, all this disturbance made him think that
something extraordinary must have happened, which had been the
cause of my amendment. Just then the other doctor, Bernardino, put
in his appearance, who at the beginning of my illness had refused to
bleed me. Maestro Francesco, the most able man, exclaimed: "Oh,
power of Nature! She knows what she requires, and the physicians
know nothing." That simpleton, Maestro Bernardino, made answer,
saying: "If he had drunk another bottle he would have been cured
upon the spot." Maestro Francesco da Norcia, a man of age and
great authority, said: "That would have been a terrible misfortune,
and would to God that it may fall on you!" Afterwards he turned
to me and asked if I could have drunk more water. I answered: "No,
because I had entirely quenched my thirst." Then he turned to
Maestro Bernardino, and said: "Look you how Nature has taken
precisely what she wanted, neither more nor less. In like manner she
was asking for what she wanted when the poor young man begged
you to bleed him. If you knew that his recovery depended upon his
drinking two flasks of water, why did you not say so before? You
might then have boasted of his cure." At these words the wretched
quack sulkily departed, and never showed his face again.
Maestro Francesco then gave orders that I should be removed
from my room and carried to one of the hills there are in Rome.
Cardinal Cornaro, when he heard of my improvement, had me trans-
ported to a place of his on Monte Cavallo. That very evening I was
taken with great precautions in a chair, well wrapped up and pro-
tected from the cold. No sooner had I reached the place than I began
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to vomit, during which there came from my stomach a hairy worm
about a quarter of a cubit in length: the hairs were long, and the
worm was very ugly, speckled of divers colours, green, black, and
red. They kept and showed it to the doctor, who said he had never
seen anything of the sort before, and afterwards remarked to Felice:
"Now take care of your Benvenuto, for he is cured. Do not permit
him any irregularities; for though he has escaped this time, another
disorder now would be the death of him. You see his malady has
been so grave, that if we had brought him the extreme unction, we
might not haVe been in time. Now I know that with a little patience
and time he will live to execute more of his fine works." Then he
turned to me and said: "My Benvenuto, be prudent, commit no ex-
cesses, and when you are quite recovered, I beg you to make me a
Madonna with your own hand, and I will always pay my devotions
to it for your sake." This I promised to do, and then asked him
whether it would be safe for me to travel so far as to Florence. He
advised me to wait till I was stronger, and till we could observe how
Nature worked in me.
LXXXVI
WHEN EIGHT DAYS had come and gone, my amendment was so slight
that life itself became almost a burden to me; indeed I had been more
than fifty days in that great suffering. So I made my mind up, and
prepared to travel. My dear Felice and I went toward Florence in a
pair of baskets; 219 and as I had not written, when I reached my sister's
house, she wept and laughed over me all in one breath. That day
many of my friends came to see me; among others Pier Landi, who
was the best and dearest friend I ever had. Next day there came a
certain Niccolo da Monte Aguto, who was also a very great friend
of mine. Now he had heard the Duke say: "Benvenuto would have
done much better to die, because he is come to put his head into a
noose, and I will never pardon him." Accordingly when Niccolo
arrived, he said to me in desperation: "Alas! my dear Benvenuto,
what have you come to do here? Did you not know what you have
done to displease the Duke? I have heard him swear that you were
thrusting your head into a halter." Then I replied: "Niccol6, remind
his Excellency that Pope Clement wanted to do as much to me
before, and quite as unjustly; tell him to keep his eye on me, and
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give me time to recover; then I will show his Excellency that I have
been the most faithful servant he will ever have in all his life; and
forasmuch as some enemy must have served me this bad turn through
envy, let him wait till I get well; for I shall then be able to give
such an account of myself as will make him marvel."
This bad turn had been done me by Giorgetto Vassellario of
Arezzo, 220 the painter; perchance in recompense for many benefits
conferred on him. I had harboured him in Rome and provided for
his costs, while he had turned my whole house upside down; for the
man was subject to a species of dry scab, which he was always in the
habit of scratching with his hands. It happened, then, that sleeping
in the same bed as an excellent workman, named Manno, who was
in my service, when he meant to scratch himself, he tore the skin
from one of Manno's legs with his filthy claws, the nails of which
he never used to cut. The said Manno left my service, and was reso-
lutely bent on killing him. I made the quarrel up, and afterwards got
Giorgio into Cardinal de' Medici's household, and continually helped
him. For these deserts, then, he told Duke Alessandro that I had
abused his Excellency, and had bragged I meant to be the first to
leap upon the walls of Florence with his foes the exiles. These words,
as I afterwards learned, had been put into Vasari's lips by that excel-
lent fellow 221 Ottaviano de' Medici, who wanted to revenge himself
for the Duke's irritation against him, on account of the coinage and
my departure from Florence. I, being innocent of the crime falsely
ascribed to me, felt no fear whatever. Meanwhile that able physician
Francesco da Monte Varchi attended to my cure with great skill.
He had been brought by my very dear friend Luca Martini, who
passed the larger portion of the day with me. 222
LXXXVII
DURING THIS WHILE I had sent my devoted comrade Felice back to
Rome, to look after our business there. When I could raise my head
a little from the bolster, which was at the end of fifteen days, al-
though I was unable to walk upon my feet, I had myself carried to
the palace of the Medici, and placed upon the little upper terrace.
There they seated me to wait until the Duke went by. Many of my
friends at court came up to greet me, and expressed surprise that I
had undergone the inconvenience of being carried in that way, while
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so shattered by illness; they said that I ought to have waited till I
wls well, and then to have visited the Duke. A crowd of them col-
lected, all looking at me as a sort of miracle; not merely because they
had heard that I was dead, but far more because I had the look of a
dead man. Then publicly, before them all, I said how some wicked
scoundrel had told my lord the Duke that I had bragged I meant
to be the first to scale his Excellency's walls, and also that I had
abused him personally; wherefore I had not the heart to live or die
till I had purged myself of that infamy, and found out who the
audacious rascal was who had uttered such calumnies against me.
At these words a large number of those gentlemen came round,
expressing great compassion for me; one said one thing, one another,
and I told them I would never go thence before I knew who had
accused me. At these words Maestro Agostino, the Duke's tailor,
made his way through all those gentlemen, and said: "If that is all
you want to know, you shall know it at this very moment."
Giorgio the painter, whom I have mentioned, happened just then
to pass, and Maestro Agostino exclaimed: "There is the man who
accused you; now you know yourself if it be true or not." As fiercely
as I could, not being able to leave my seat, I asked Giorgio if it was
true that he had accused me. He denied that it was so, and that he
had ever said anything of the sort. Maestro Agostino retorted: "You
gallows-bird! don't you know that I know it for most certain?"
Giorgio made off as quickly as he could, repeating that he had not
accused me. Then, after a short while, the Duke came by; where-
upon I had myself raised up before his Excellency, and he halted.
I told him that I had come there in that way solely in order to clear
my character. The Duke gazed at me, and marvelled I was still alive;
afterwards he bade me take heed to be an honest man and regain
my health.
When I reached home, Niccol6 da Monte Aguto came to visit me,
and told me that I had escaped one of the most dreadful perils in the
world, quite contrary to all his expectations, for he had seen my
ruin written with indelible ink; now I must make haste to get well,
and afterwards take French leave, because my jeopardy came from
a quarter and a man who was able to destroy me. He then said, "Be-
ware," and added: "What displeasure have you given to that rascal
Ottaviano dc' Medici?" I answered that I had done nothing to dis-
please him, but that he had injured me; and told him all the affair
about the Mint He repeated: "Get hence as quickly as you can, and
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be of good courage, for you will see your vengeance executed
sooner than you expect." I paid the best attention to my health, gave
Pietro Pagolo advice about stamping the coins, and then went off
upon my way to Rome without saying a word to the Duke or any-
body else.
LXXXVIII
WHEN i REACHED ROME, and had enjoyed the company of my friends
awhile, I began the Duke's medal. In a few days I finished the head
in steel, and it was the finest work of the kind which I had ever pro-
duced. At least once every day there came to visit me a sort of
blockhead named Messer Francesco Soderini. 228 When he saw what
I was doing, he used frequently to exclaim: "Barbarous wretch! you
want then to immortalise that ferocious tyrant! You have never
made anything so exquisite, which proves you our inveterate foe
and their devoted friend; and yet the Pope and he have had it twice
in mind to hang you without any fault of yours. That was the Father
and the Son; now beware of the Holy Ghost." It was firmly believed
that Duke Alessandro was the son of Pope Clement. Messer Fran-
cesco used also to say and swear by all his saints that, if he could, he
would have robbed me of the dies for that medal. I responded that
he had done well to tell me so, and that I would take such care of
them that he should never see them more.
I now sent to Florence to request Lorenzino that he would send
me the reverse of the medal. Niccolo da Monte Aguto, to whom I
had written, wrote back, saying that he had spoken to that mad
melancholy philosopher Lorenzino for it; he had replied that he was
thinking night and day of nothing else, and that he would finish it
as soon as he was able. Nevertheless, I was not to set my hopes upon
his reverse, but I had better invent one out of my own head, and
when I had finished it, I might bring it without hesitation to the
Duke, for this would be to my advantage.
I composed the design of a reverse which seemed to me appropri-
ate, and pressed the work forward to my best ability. Not being,
however, yet recovered from that terrible illness, I gave myself fre-
quent relaxation by going out on fowling expeditions with my friend
Felice. This man had no skill in my art; but since we were perpet-
ually day and night together, everybody thought he was a first-rate
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craftsman. This being so, as he was a fellow of much humour, we
used often to laugh together about the great credit he had gained.
His name was Felice Guadagni (Gain), which made him say in jest:
"I should be called Felice Gain-little if you had not enabled me to
acquire such credit that I can call myself Gain-much." I replied that
there are two ways of gaining: the first is that by which one gains
for one's self, the second that by which one gains for others; so I
praised him much more for the second than the first, since he had
gained for me my life.
We often held such conversations; but I remember one in particu-
lar on the day of Epiphany, when we were together near La Magli-
ana. It was close upon nightfall, and during the day I had shot a
good number of ducks and geese; then, as I had almost made my
mind up to shoot no more that rime, we were returning briskly
toward Rome. Calling to my dog by his name, Barucco, and not
seeing him in front of me, I turned round and noticed that the well-
trained animal was pointing at some geese which had settled in a
ditch. I therefore dismounted at once, got my fowling-piece ready,
and at a very long range brought two of them down with a single
ball. I never used to shoot with more than one ball, and was usually
able to hit my mark at two hundred cubits, which cannot be done
by other ways of loading. Of the two geese, one was almost dead,
and the other, though badly wounded, was flying lamely. My dog
retrieved the one and brought it to me; but noticing that the other
was diving down into the ditch, I sprang forward to catch it. Trust-
ing to my boots, which came high up the leg, I put one foot for-
ward; it sank in the oozy ground; and so, although I got the goose,
the boot of my right leg was full of water. I lifted my foot and let
the water run out; then, when I had mounted, we made haste for
Rome. The cold, however, was very great, and I felt my leg freeze,
so that I said to Felice: "We must do something to help this leg, for
I don't know how to bear it longer." The good Felice, without a
word, leapt from his horse, and gathering some thistles and bits of
stick, began to build a fire. I meanwhile was waiting, and put my
hands among the breast-feathers of the geese, and felt them very
warm. So I told him not to make the fire, but filled my boot with
die feathers of the goose, and was immediately so much comforted
that I regained vitality.
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LXXXIX
WE MOUNTED, and rode rapidly toward Rome; and when we had
reached a certain gently rising ground night had already fallen-
looking in the direction of Florence, both with one breath exclaimed
in the utmost astonishment: "O God of heaven! what is that great
thing one sees there over Florence?" It resembled a huge beam of
fire, which sparkled and gave out extraordinary lustre.
I said to Felice: "Assuredly we shall hear to-morrow that some-
thing of vast importance has happened in Florence." As we rode into
Rome, the darkness was extreme; and when we came near the Banchi
and our own house, my little horse was going in an amble at a furi-
ous speed. Now that day they had thrown a heap of plaster and
broken tiles in the middle of the road, which neither my horse nor
myself perceived. In his fiery pace the beast ran up it; but on coming
down upon the other side he turned a complete somersault. He had
his head between his legs, and it was only through the power of God
himself that I escaped unhurt. The noise we made brought the neigh-
bours out with lights; but I had already jumped to my feet; and so,
without remounting, I ran home, laughing to have come unhurt out
of an accident enough to break my neck.
On entering the house, I found some friends of mine there, to
whom, while we were supping together, I related the adventures
of the day's chase and the diabolical apparition of the fiery beam
which we had seen. They exclaimed: "What shall we hear to-
morrow which this portent has announced?" I answered: "Some
revolution must certainly have occurred in Florence." So we supped
agreeably; and late the next day there came the news to Rome of
Duke Alessandro's death. 224 Upon this many of my acquaintances
came to me and said: "You were right in conjecturing that some-
thing of great importance had happened at Florence." Just then
Francesco Soderini appeared jogging along upon a wretched mule he
had, and laughing all the way like a madman. He said to me: "This
is the reverse of that vile tyrant's medal which your Lorenzino de*
Medici promised you." Then he added: "You wanted to immortalise
the dukes for us; but we meant to have no more dukes"; and there-
upon he jeered me, as though I had been the captain of the factions
which make dukes. Meanwhile a certain Baccio Bettini, 225 who had
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an ugly big head like a bushel, came up and began to banter me in
the same way about dukes, calling out: "We have dis-duked them,
and won't have any more of them; and you were for making them
immortal for us!" with many other tiresome quips of the same kind.
I lost my patience at this nonsense, and said to them: "You block-
heads! I am a poor goldsmith, who serve whoever pays me; and you
are jeering me as though I were a party-leader. However, this shall
not make me cast in your teeth the insatiable greediness, idiocy, and
good-for-nothingness of your predecessors. But this one answer I
will make to all your silly railleries; that before two or three days
at the longest have passed by, you will have another duke, much
worse perhaps than he who now has left you." 220
The following day Bettini came to my shop and said: "There is
no need to spend money in couriers, for you know things before
they happen. What spirit tells them to you?" Then he informed me
that Cosimo de' Medici, the son of Signor Giovanni, was made Duke;
but that certain conditions had been imposed at his election, which
would hold him back from kicking up his heels at his own pleasure.
I now had my opportunity for laughing at them, and saying: "Those
men of Florence have set a young man upon a mettlesome horse;
next they have buckled spurs upon his heels, and put the bridle freely
in his hands, and turned him out upon a magnificent field, full of
flowers and fruits and all delightful things; next they have bidden
him not to cross certain indicated limits: now tell me, you, who
there is that can hold him back, whenever he has but the mind to
cross them? Laws cannot be imposed on him who is the master of
the law." So they left me alone, and gave me no further annoy-
ance. 227
XC
I NOW BEGAN to attend to my shop, and did some business, not how-
ever of much moment, because I had still to think about my health,
which was not yet established after that grave illness I had under-
gone. About this time the Emperor returned victorious from his
expedition against Tunis, and the Pope sent for me to take my advice
concerning die present of honour it was fit to give him. 228 1 answered
that it seemed to me most appropriate to present his Imperial Majesty
with a golden crucifix, for which I had almost finished an ornament
quite to the purpose, and which would confer the highest honour
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upon his Holiness and me. I had already made three little figures of
gold in the round, about a palm high; they were those which I had
begun for the chalice of Pope Clement, representing Faith, Hope,
and Charity. To these I added in wax what was wanting for die
basement of the cross. I carried the whole to the Pope, with the
Christ in wax, and many other exquisite decorations which gave him
complete satisfaction. Before I took leave of his Holiness, we had
agreed on every detail, and calculated the price of the work.
This was one evening four hours after nightfall, and the Pope had
ordered Messer Latino Juvenale to see that I had money paid to me
next morning. This Messer Latino, who had a pretty big dash of the
fool in his composition, bethought him of furnishing the Pope with
a new idea, which was, however, wholly of his own invention. So
he altered everything which had been arranged; and next morning,
when I went for the money, he said with his usual brutal arrogance:
"It is our part to invent, and yours to execute; before I left the
Pope last night we thought of something far superior." To these
first words I answered, without allowing him to proceed farther:
"Neither you nor the Pope can think of anything better than a
piece in which Christ plays a part; so you may go on with your
courtier's nonsense till you have no more to say."
Without uttering one word, he left me in a rage, and tried to get
the work given to another goldsmith. The Pope, however, refused,
and sent for me at once, and told me I had spoken well, but that
they wanted to make use of a Book of Hours of Our Lady, which
was marvellously illuminated, and had cost the Cardinal de' Medici
more than two thousand crowns. They thought that this would be
an appropriate present to the Empress, and that for the Emperor
they would afterwards make what I had suggested, which was indeed
a present worthy of him; but now there was no time to lose, since
the Emperor was expected in Rome in about a month and a half.
He wanted the book to be enclosed in a case of massive gold, richly
worked, and adorned with jewels valued at about six thousand
crowns. Accordingly, when the jewels and the gold were given me,
I began the work, and driving it briskly forward, in a few days
brought it to such beauty that the Pope was astonished, and showed
me the most distinguished signs of favour, conceding at the same
time that that beast Juvenale should have nothing more to do with
me.
I had nearly brought my work to its completion when the
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Emperor arrived, and numerous triumphal arches of great magnifi-
cence were erected in his honour. He entered Rome with extraordi-
nary pomp, the description of which I leave to others, since I mean
to treat of those things only which concern myself. 229 Immediately
after his arrival, he gave the Pope a diamond which he had bought
for twelve thousand crowns. This diamond the Pope committed to
my care, ordering me to make a ring to the measure of his Holiness's
finger; but first he wished me to bring the book in the state to which
I had advanced it. I took it accordingly, and he was highly pleased
with it; then he asked my advice concerning the apology which
could be reasonably made to the Emperor for the unfinished condi-
tion of my work. I said that my indisposition would furnish a sound
excuse, since his Majesty, seeing how thin and pale I was, would
very readily believe and accept it. To this the Pope replied that he
approved of the suggestion, but that I should add on the part of his
Holiness, when I presented the book to the Emperor, that I made
him the present of myself. Then he told me in detail how I had
to behave, and the words I had to say. These words I repeated to
the Pope, asking him if he wished me to deliver them in that way.
He replied: "You would acquit yourself to admiration if you had
the courage to address the Emperor as you are addressing me." Then
I said that I had the courage to speak with far greater ease and free-
dom to the Emperor, seeing that the Emperor was clothed as I was,
and that I should seem to be speaking to a man formed like myself;
this was not the case when I addressed his Holiness, in whom I be-
held a far superior deity, both by reason of his ecclesiastical adorn-
ments, which shed a certain aureole about him, and at the same time
because of his Holiness's dignity of venerable age; all these things
inspired in me more awe than the Imperial Majesty. To these words
the Pope responded: "Go, my Benvenuto; you are a man of ability;
do us honour, and it will be well for you."
XCI
THE POPE ordered out two Turkish horses, which had belonged to
Pope Clement, and were the most beautiful that ever came to Chris-
tendom. Messer Durante, 280 his chamberlain, was bidden to bring
them through the lower galleries of the palace, and there to give
them to the Emperor, repeating certain words which his Holiness
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dictated to him. We both went down together, and when we reached
the presence of the Emperor, the horses made their entrance through
. those halls with so much spirit and such a noble carriage that the
Emperor and every one were struck with wonder. Thereupon Mes-
ser Durante advanced in so graceless a manner, and delivered his
speech with so much of Brescian lingo, mumbling his words over
in his mouth, that one never saw or heard anything worse; indeed
the Emperor could not refrain from smiling at him. I meanwhile had
already uncovered my piece; and observing that the Emperor had
turned his eyes towards me with a very gracious look, I advanced
at once and said: "Sacred Majesty, our most holy Father, Pope
Paolo, sends this book of the Virgin as a present to your Majesty,
the which is written in a fair clerk's hand, and illuminated by the
greatest master who ever professed that art; and this rich cover of
gold and jewels is unfinished, as you here behold it, by reason of my
illness: wherefore his Holiness, together with the book, presents me
also, and attaches me to your Majesty in order that I may complete
the work; nor this alone, but everything which you may have it in
your mind to execute so long as life is left me, will I perform at
your service." Thereto the Emperor responded: "The book is ac-
ceptable to me, and so are you; but I desire you to complete it for
me in Rome; when it is finished, and you are restored to health,
bring it me and come to see me." Afterwards, in course of conver-
sation, he called me by my name, which made me wonder, because
no words had been dropped in which my name occurred; and he
said that he had seen that fastening of Pope Clement's cope, on
which I had wrought so many wonderful figures. We continued
talking in this way a whole half hour, touching on divers topics
artistic and agreeable; then, since it seemed to me that I had acquit-
ted myself with more honour than I had expected, I took the occa-
sion of a slight lull in the conversation to make my bow and to
retire. The Emperor was heard to say: "Let five hundred golden
crowns be given at once to Benvenuto," The person who brought
them up asked who the Pope's man was who had spoken to the
Emperor. Messer Durante came forward and robbed me of my five
hundred crowns. I complained to the Pope, who told me not to be
uneasy, for he knew how everything had happened, and how well
I had conducted myself in addressing the Emperor, and of the
money I should certainly obtain my share.
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XCII
WHEN i RETURNED to my shop, I set my hand with diligence to
finishing the diamond ring, concerning which the four first jewellers
of Rome were sent to consult with me. This was because the Pope
had been informed that the diamond had been set by the first
jeweller of the world in Venice; he was called Maestro Miliano
Targhetta; and the diamond being somewhat thin, the job of setting
it was too difficult to be attempted without great deliberation. I was
well pleased to receive these four jewellers, among whom was a man
of Milan called Gaio. He was the most presumptuous donkey in the
world, the one who knew least and who thought he knew most; the
others were very modest and able craftsmen. In the presence of us
all this Gaio began to talk, and said: "Miliano's foil should be pre-
served, and to do that, Benvenuto, you shall doff your cap; 281 for
just as giving diamonds a tint is the most delicate and difficult thing
in the jeweller's art, so is Miliano the greatest jeweller that ever lived,
and this is the most difficult diamond to tint." I replied that it was
all the greater glory for me to compete with so able a master in such
an excellent profession. Afterwards I turned to the other jewellers
and said: "Look here! I am keeping Miliano's foil, and I will see
whether I can improve on it with some of my own manufacture;
if not, we will tint it with the same you see here." That ass Gaio
exclaimed that if I made a foil like that he would gladly doff his cap
to it. To which I replied: "Supposing then I make it better, it will
deserve two bows." "Certainly so," said he; and I began to compose
my foils.
I took the very greatest pains in mixing the tints, the method of
doing which I will explain in the proper place. 282 It is certain that
the diamond in question offered more difficulties than any others
which before or afterwards have come into my hands, and Miliano's
foil was made with true artistic skill. However, that did not dismay
me; but having sharpened my wits up, I succeeded not only in making
something quite as good, but in exceeding it by far. Then, when I
saw that I had surpassed him, I went about to surpass myself, and
produced a foil by new processes which was a long way better than
what I had previously made. Thereupon I sent for the jewellers; and
first I tinted the diamond with Miliano's foil; then I cleaned it well
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
and tinted it afresh with my own. When I showed it to the jewellers,
one of the best among them, who was called Raff ael del Moro, took
the diamond in his hand and said to Gaio: "Benvenuto has outdone
the foil of Miliano." Gaio, unwilling to believe it, took the diamond
and said: "Benvenuto, this diamond is worth two thousand ducats
more than with the foil of Miliano." I rejoined: "Now that I have
surpassed Miliano, let us see if I can surpass myself." Then I begged
them to wait for me a while, went up into a little cabinet, and having
tinted the diamond anew unseen by them, returned and showed it
to the jewellers. Gaio broke out at once: "This is the most marvel-
lous thing that I have ever seen in the course of my whole lifetime.
The stone is worth upwards of eighteen thousand crowns, whereas
we valued it at barely twelve thousand." The other jewellers turned
to him and said: "Benvenuto is the glory of our art, and it is only
due that we should doff our caps to him and to his foils." Then Gaio
said: "I shall go and tell the Pope, and I mean to procure for him
one thousand golden crowns for the setting of this diamond." Ac-
cordingly he hurried to the Pope and told him the whole story;
whereupon his Holiness sent three times on that day to see if the ring
was finished.
At twenty-three o'clock I took the ring to the palace; and since
the doors were always open to me, I lifted the curtain gently, and
saw the Pope in private audience with the Marchese del Guasto. 288
The Marquis must have been pressing something on the Pope which
he was unwilling to perform; for I heard him say: "I tell you, no;
it is my business to remain neutral, and nothing else." I was retir-
ing as quickly as I could, when the Pope himself called me back;
so I entered the room, and presented the diamond ring, upon which
he drew me aside, and the Marquis retired to a distance. While look-
ing at the diamond, the Pope whispered to me: "Benvenuto, begin
some conversation with me on a subject which shall seem important,
and do not stop talking so long as the Marquis remains in this room."
Then he took to walking up and down; and the occasion making for
my advantage, I was very glad to discourse with him upon the
methods I had used to tint the stone. The Marquis remained standing
apart, leaning against a piece of tapestry; and now he balanced him-
self about on one foot, now on the other. The subject I had chosen
to discourse upon was of such importance, if fully treated, that I
could have talked about it at least three hours. The Pope was enter-
tained to such a degree that he forgot the annoyance of the Marquis
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
standing there. I seasoned what I had to say with that part of natural
philosophy which belongs to our profession; and so having spoken
for near upon an hour, the Marquis grew tired of waiting, and went
off fuming. Then the Pope bestowed on me the most familiar caresses
which can be imagined, and exclaimed: "Have patience, my dear
Benvenuto, for I will give you a better reward for your virtues than
the thousand crowns which Gaio tells me your work is worth."
On this I took my leave; and the Pope praised me in the presence
of his household, among whom was the fellow Latino Juvenale,
whom I have previously mentioned. This man, having become my
enemy, assiduously strove to do me hurt; and noticing that the Pope
talked of me with so much affection and warmth, he put in his word:
"There is no doubt at all that Benvenuto is a person of very remark-
able genius; but while every one is naturally bound to feel more
good-will for his own countrymen than for others, still one ought
to consider maturely what language it is right and proper to use
when speaking of a Pope. He has had the audacity to say that Pope
Clement indeed was the handsomest sovereign that ever reigned, and
no less gifted; only that luck was always against him: and he says
that your Holiness is quite the opposite; that the tiara seems to weep
for rage upon your head; that you look like a truss of straw with
clothes on, and that there is nothing in you except good luck."
These words, reported by a man who knew most excellently how to
say them, had such force that they gained credit with the Pope. Far
from having uttered them, such things had never come into my head.
If the Pope could have done so without losing credit, he would cer-
tainly have taken fierce revenge upon me; but being a man of great
tact and talent, he made a show of turning it off with a laugh. Never-
theless he harboured in his heart a deep vindictive feeling against
me, of which I was not slow to be aware, since I had no longer the
same easy access to his apartments as formerly, but found the great-
est difficulty in procuring audience. As I had now for many years
been familiar with the manners of the Roman court, I conceived that
some one had done me a bad turn; and on making dexterous inquiries,
I was told the whole, but not the name of my calumniator. I could
not imagine who the man was; had I but found him out, my ven-
geance would not have been measured by troy weight* 84
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XCIII
I WENT ON WORKING at my book, and when I had finished it I took
it to the Pope, who was in good truth unable to refrain from com-
mending it greatly. I begged him to send me with it to the Emperor,
as he had promised. He replied that he would do what he thought
fit, and that I had performed my part of the business. So he gave
orders that I should be well paid. These two pieces of work, on
which I had spent upwards of two months, brought me in five hun-
dred crowns: for the diamond I was paid one hundred and fifty
crowns and no more; the rest was given me for the cover of the
book, which, however, was worth more than a thousand, being
enriched with multitudes of figures, arabesques, enamellings, and
jewels. I took what I could get, and made my mind up to leave Rome
without permission. The Pope meanwhile sent my book to the Em-
peror by the hand of his grandson, Signor Sf orza. 285 Upon accepting
it, the Emperor expressed great satisfaction, and immediately asked
for me. Young Signor Sf orza, who had received his instructions, said
that I had been prevented by illness from coming. All this was re-
ported to me.
Aly preparations for the journey into France were made; and I
wished to go alone, but was unable on account of a lad in my service
called Ascanio. He was of very tender age, and the most admirable
servant in the world. When I took him he had left a former master,
named Francesco, a Spaniard and a goldsmith. I did not much like
to take him, lest I should get into a quarrel with the Spaniard, and
said to Ascanio: "I do not want to have you, for fear of offending
your master." He contrived that his master should write me a note
informing me that I was free to take him. So he had been with me
some months; and since he came to us both thin and pale of face,
\ve called him "the little old man"; indeed I almost thought he was
one, partly because he was so good a servant, and partly because he
was so clever that it seemed unlikely he should have such talent at
thirteen years, which he affirmed his age to be. Now to go back to
the point from which I started, he improved in person during those
few months, and gaining in flesh, became the handsomest youth in
Rome. Being the excellent servant which I have described, and show-
ing marvellous aptitude for our art, I felt a warm and fatherly affec-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
tion for him, and kept him clothed as if he had been my own son.
When the boy perceived the improvement he had made, he esteemed
it a good piece of luck that he had come into my hands; and he used
frequently to go and thank his former master, who had been the
cause of his prosperity. Now this man had a handsome young
woman to wife, who said to him: "Surgetto" (that was what they
called him when he lived with them), "what have you been doing
to become so handsome?" Ascanio answered: "Madonna Franceses^
it is my master who has made me so handsome, and far more good
to boot." In her petty spiteful way she took it very ill that Ascanio
should speak so; and having no reputation for chastity, she contrived
to caress the lad more perhaps than was quite seemly, which made
me notice that he began to visit her more frequently than his wont
had been.
One day Ascanio took to beating one of our little shopboys, who,
when I came home from out of doors, complained to me with tears
that Ascanio had knocked him about without any cause. Hearing
this, I said to Ascanio: "With cause or without cause, see you never
strike any one of my family, or else I'll make you feel how I can
strike myself." He bandied words with me, which made me jump on
him and give him the severest drubbing with both fists and feet that
he had ever felt. As soon as he escaped my clutches, he ran away
without cape or cap, and for two days I did not know where he was,
and took no care to find him. After that time a Spanish gentleman,
called Don Diego, came to speak to me. He was the most generous
man in the world. I had made, and was making, some things for him,
which had brought us well acquainted. He told me that Ascanio had
gone back to his old master, and asked me, if I thought it proper, to
send him the cape and cap which I had given him. Thereupon I said
that Francesco had behaved badly, and like a low-bred fellow; for
if he had told me, when Ascanio first came back to him, that he was
in his house, I should very willingly have given him leave; but now
that he had kept him two days without informing me, I was resolved
he should not have him; and let him take care that I do not set eyes
upon the lad in his house. This message was reported by Don Diego,
but it only made Francesco laugh. The next morning I saw Ascanio
working at some trifles in wire at his master's side. As I was passing
he bowed to me, and his master almost laughed me in the face. He
sent again to ask through Don Diego whether I would not give
Ascanio back the clothes he had received from me; but if not, he
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did not mind, and Ascanio should not want for clothes. When I
heard this, I turned to Don Diego and said: "Don Diego, sir, in all
your dealings you are the most liberal and worthy man I ever knew;
but that Francesco is quite the opposite of you; he is nothing better
than a worthless and dishonoured renegade. Tell him from me that
if he does not bring Ascanio here himself to my shop before the bell
for vespers, I will assuredly kill him; and tell Ascanio that if he does
not quit that house at the hour appointed for his master, I will treat
him much in the same way." Don Diego made no answer, but went
and inspired such terror in Francesco that he knew not what to do
with himself, Ascanio meanwhile had gone to find his father, who
had come to Rome from Tagliacozzo, his birthplace; and this man
also, when he heard about the row, advised Francesco to bring
Ascanio back to me. Francesco said to Ascanio: "Go on your own
account, and your father shall go with you." Don Diego put in:
"Francesco, I foresee that something very serious will happen; you
know better than I do what a man Benvenuto is; take the lad back
courageously, and I will come with you." I had prepared myself,
and was pacing up and down the shop waiting for the bell to vespers;
my mind was made up to do one of the bloodiest deeds which I had
ever attempted in my life. Just then arrived Don Diego, Francesco,
Ascanio, and his father, whom I did not know. When Ascanio en-
tered, I gazed at the whole company with eyes of rage, and Fran-
cesco, pale as death, began as follows: "See here, I have brought back
Ascanio, whom I kept with me, not thinking that I should offend
you." Ascanio added humbly: "Master, pardon me; I am at your dis-
posal here, to do whatever you shall order." Then I said: "Have you
come to work out the time you promised me?" He answered yes,
and that he meant never to leave me. Then I turned and told the
shopboy he had beaten to hand him the bundle of clothes, and said
to him: "Here are all the clothes I gave you; take with them your
discharge, and go where you like." Don Diego stood astonished at
this, which was quite the contrary of what he had expected; while
Ascanio with his father besought me to pardon and take him back.
On my asking who it was who spoke for him, he said it was his
father; to whom, after many entreaties, I replied: "Because you are
his father, for your sake I will take him back.'*
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XCIV
I HAD FORMED the resolution, as I said a short while back, to go toward
France; partly because I saw that the Pope did not hold me in the
same esteem as formerly, my faithful service having been besmirched
by lying tongues; and also because I feared lest those who had the
power might play me some worse trick. So I was determined to seek
better fortune in a foreign land, and wished to leave Rome without
company or license. On the eve of my projected departure, I told
my faithful friend Felice to make free use of all my effects during
my absence; and in the case of my not returning, left him everything
I possessed. Now there was a Perugian workman in my employ, who
had helped me on those commissions from the Pope; and after paying
his wages, I told him he must leave my service. He begged me in
reply to let him go with me, and said he would come at his own
charges; if I stopped to work for the King of France, it would cer-
tainly be better for me to have Italians by me, and in particular such
persons as I knew to be capable of giving me assistance. His entreaties
and arguments persuaded me to take him on the journey in the man-
ner he proposed. Ascanio, who was present at this debate, said, half
in tears: "When you took me back, I said I wished to remain with
you my lifetime, and so I have it in my mind to do." I told him that
nothing in the world would make me consent; but when I saw that
the poor lad was preparing to follow on foot, I engaged a horse for
him too, put a small valise upon the crupper, and loaded myself with
far more useless baggage than I should otherwise have taken. 236
From home I travelled to Florence, from Florence to Bologna,
from Bologna to Venice, and from Venice to Padua. There my dear
friend Alberaccio del Bene made me leave the inn for his house; and
next day I went to kiss the hand of Messer Pietro Bembo, who was
not yet a Cardinal. 287 He received me with marks of the warmest
affection which could be bestowed on any man; then turning to
Albertaccio, he said: "I want Benvenuto to stay here, with all his
followers, even though they be a hundred men; make then your mind
up, if you want Benvenuto also, to stay here with me, for I do not
mean elsewise to let you have him." Accordingly I spent a very
pleasant visit at the house of that most accomplished gentleman. He
had a room prepared for me which would have been too grand for
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a cardinal, and always insisted on my taking my meals beside him.
Later on, he began to hint in very modest terms that he should
greatly like me to take his portrait. I, who desired nothing in the
world more, prepared some snow-white plaster in a little box, and
set to work at once. The first day I spent two hours on end at my
modelling, and blocked out the fine head of that eminent man with
so much grace of manner that his lordship was fairly astounded.
Now, though he was a man of profound erudition and without a
rival in poetry, he understood nothing at all about my art; this made
him think that I had finished when I had hardly begun, so that I
could not make him comprehend what a long time it took to execute
a thing of that sort thoroughly. At last I resolved to do it as well as
I was able, and to spend the requisite time upon it; but since he wore
his beard short after the Venetian fashion, I had great trouble in
modelling a head to my own satisfaction. However, I finished it, and
judged it about the finest specimen I had produced in all the points
pertaining to my art. Great was the astonishment of Messer Pietro,
who conceived that I should have completed the waxen model in
two hours and the steel in ten, when he found that I employed two
hundred on the wax, and then was begging for leave to pursue my
journey toward France. This threw him into much concern, and he
implored me at least to design the reverse for his medal, which was
to be a Pegasus encircled with a wreath of myrtle. I performed my
task in the space of some three hours, and gave it a fine air of ele-
gance. He was exceedingly delighted, and said: "This horse seems
to me ten times more difficult to do than the little portrait on which
you have bestowed so much pains. I cannot understand what made
it such a labour." All the same, he kept entreating me to execute the
piece in steel, exclaiming: "For Heaven's sake, do it; I know that,
if you choose, you will get it quickly finished." I told him that I
was not willing to make it there, but promised without fail to take
it in hand wherever I might stop to work.
While this debate was being carried on I went to bargain for three
horses which I wanted on my travels; and he took care that a secret
watch should be kept over my proceedings, for he had vast authority
in Padua; wherefore, when I proposed to pay for the horses, which
were to cost five hundred ducats, their owner answered: "Illustrious
artist, I make you a present of the three horses." I replied: "It is not
you who give them me; and from the generous donor I cannot accept
them, seeing I have been unable to present him with any specimen
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of my craft." The good fellow said that, if I did not take them, I
should get no other horses in Padua, and should have to make my
journey on foot. Upon that I returned to the magnificent Messer
Pietro, who affected to be ignorant of the affair, and only begged
me with marks of kindness to remain in Padua. This was contrary
to my intention, for I had quite resolved to set out; therefore I had
to accept the three horses, and with them we began our journey.
xcv
I CHOSE THE ROUTE through the Grisons, all other passes being unsafe
on account of war. We crossed the mountains of the Alba and Ber-
lina; it was the 8th of May, and the snow upon them lay in masses. 288
At the utmost hazard of our lives we succeeded in surmounting
those two Alpine ridges; and when they had been traversed, we
stopped at a place which, if I remember rightly, is called Valdisti.
There we took up quarters, and at nightfall there arrived a Floren-
tine courier named Busbacca. I had heard him mentioned as a man
of character and able in his profession, but I did not know that he
had forfeited that reputation by his rogueries. When he saw me in
the hostelry, he addressed me by my name, said he was going on
business of importance to Lyons, and entreated me to lend him
money for the journey. I said I had no money to lend, but that if
he liked to join me, I would pay his expenses as far as Lyons. The
rascal wept, and wheedled me with a long story, saying: "If a poor
courier employed on affairs of national consequence has fallen short
of money, it is the duty of a man like you to assist him." Then he
added that he was carrying things of the utmost importance from
Messer Filippo Strozzi; 239 and showing me a leather case for a cup
he had with him, whispered in my ear that it held a goblet of silver
which contained jewels to the value of many thousands of ducats,
together with letters of vast consequence, sent by Messer Filippo
StrozzL I told him that he ought to let me conceal the jewels about
his own person, which would be much less dangerous than carrying
them in the goblet; he might give that up to me, and, its value being
probably about ten crowns, I would supply him with twenty-five
cm the security. To these words the courier replied that he would
go with me, since he could not do otherwise, for to give up the
goblet would not be to his honour.
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Accordingly we struck the bargain so; and taking horse next
morning, came to a lake between Valdistate and Vessa; it is fifteen
miles long when one reaches Vessa. On beholding the boats upon
that lake I took fright; because they are of pine, of no great size
and no great thickness, loosely put together, and not even pitched.
If I had not seen four German gentlemen, with their four horses,
embarking in one of the same sort as ours, I should never have set
my foot in it; indeed I should far more likely have turned tail; but
when I saw their hare-brained recklessness, I took it into my head
that those German waters would not drown folk, as ours do in Italy.
However, my two young men kept saying to me: "Benvenuto, it is
surely dangerous to embark in this craft with four horses." I replied:
"You cowards, do you observe how those four gentlemen have
taken boat before us, and are going on their way with laughter? If
this were wine, as indeed 'tis water, I should say that they were
going gladly to drown themselves in it; but as it is but water, I know
well that they have no more pleasure than we have in drowning
there." The lake was fifteen miles long and about three broad; on
one side rose a mountain very tall and cavernous, on the other some
flat land and grassy. When we had gone about four miles, it began
to storm upon the lake, and our oarsmen asked us to help in rowing;
this we did awhile. I made gestures and directed them to land us on
the farther shore; they said it was not possible, because there was
not depth of water for the boat, and there were shoals there, which
would make it go to pieces and drown us all; and still they kept on
urging us to help them. The boatmen shouted one to the other, call-
ing for assistance. When I saw them thus dismayed, my horse being
an intelligent animal, I arranged the bridle on his neck and took the
end of the halter with my left hand. The horse, like most of his kind,
being not devoid of reason, seemed to have an instinct of my inten-
tion; for having turned his face towards the fresh grass, I meant that
he should swim and draw me after him. Just at that moment a great
wave broke over the boat. Ascanio shrieked out: "Mercy, my father;
save me," and wanted to throw himself upon my neck. Accordingly,
I laid hand to my little dagger, and told them to do as I had shown
them, seeing that the horses would save their lives as well as I too
hoped to escape with mine by the same means; but that if he tried to
jump on me, I should kill him. So we went forward several miles
in this great peril of our lives.
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XCVI
WHEN WE HAD REACHED the middle of the lake, we found a little bit
of level ground where we could land, and I saw that those four
German gentlemen had already come to shore there; but on our
wishing to disembark, the boatmen would hear nothing of it. Then
I said to my young men: "Now is the time to show what stuff we
are made of; so draw your swords, and force these fellows to put us
on shore." This we did, not however without difficulty, for they
offered a stubborn resistance. When at last we got to land, we had
to climb that mountain for two miles, and it was more troublesome
than getting up a ladder. I was completely clothed in mail, with big
boots, and a gun in my hand; and it was raining as though the foun-
tains of the heavens were opened. Those devils, the German gentle-
men, leading their little horses by the bridle, accomplished miracles
of agility; but our animals were not up to the business, and we burst
with the fatigue of making them ascend that hill of difficulty. We
had climbed a little way, when Ascanio's horse, an excellent beast of
Hungarian race, made a false step. He was going a few paces before
the courier Busbacca, to whom Ascanio had given his lance to carry
for him. Well, the path was so bad that the horse stumbled, and went
on scrambling backwards, without being able to regain his footing,
till he stuck upon the point of the lance, which that rogue of a
courier had not the wit to keep out of his way. The weapon passed
right through his throat; and when my other workman went to help
him, his horse also, a black-coloured animal, slipped towards the
lake, and held on by some shrub which offered but a slight support.
This horse was carrying a pair of saddle-bags, which contained all
my money and other valuables. I cried out to the young man to save
his own life, and let the horse go to the devil. The fall was more
than a mile of precipitous descent above the waters of the lake. Just
below the place our boatmen had taken up their station; so that if
the horse fell, he would have come precisely on them. I was ahead
of the whole company, and we waited to see the horse plunge head-
long; it seemed certain that he must go to perdition. During this I
said to my young men: "Be under no concern; let us save our lives,
and give thanks to God for all that happens. I am only distressed for
that poor fellow Busbacca, who tied his goblet and his jewels to the
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value of several thousands of ducats on the horse's saddle-bow, think-
ing that the safest place. My things are but a few hundred crowns,
and I am in no fear whatever, if only I get God's protection." Then
Busbacca cried out: "I am not sorry for my own loss, but for yours."
"Why," said I to him, "are you sorry for my trifles, and not for all
that property of yours?" He answered: "I will tell you in God's
name; in these circumstances and at the point of peril we have
reached, truth must be spoken. I know that yours are crowns, and
are so in good sooth; but that case in which I said I had so many
jewels and other lies, is all full of caviare." On hearing this I could
not hold from laughing; my young men laughed too; and he began
to cry. The horse extricated itself by a great effort when we had
given it up for lost. So then, still laughing, we summoned our forces,
and bent ourselves to making the ascent. The four German gentle-
men, having gained the top before us, sent down some folk who
gave us aid. Thus at length we reached our lodging in the wilder-
ness. Here, being wet to the skin, tired out, and famished, we were
most agreeably entertained; we dried ourselves, took rest, and sat-
isfied our hunger, while certain wild herbs were applied to the
wounded horse. They pointed out to us the plant in question, of
which the hedges were full; and we were told that if the wound was
kept continually plugged with its leaves, the beast would not only
recover, but would serve us just as if it had sustained no injury.
We proceeded to do as they advised. Then having thanked those
gentlemen, and feeling ourselves entirely refreshed, we quitted the
place, and travelled onwards, thanking God for saving us from such
great perils.
XCVII
WE REACHED a town beyond Vessa, where we passed the night, and
heard a watchman through all the hours singing very agreeably;
for all the houses of that city being built of pine wood, it was the
watchman's only business to warn folk against fire. Busbacca's nerves
had been quite shaken by the day's adventures; accordingly, each
hour when the watchman sang, he called out in his sleep: "Ah God,
I am drowning!" That was because of the fright he had had; and
besides, he had got drunk in the evening, because he would sit booz-
ing with all the Germans who were there; and sometimes he cried:
"I am burning," and sometimes: "I am drowning"; and at other times
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he thought he was in hell, and tortured with that caviare suspended
round his throat.
This night was so amusing, that it turned all our troubles into
laughter. In the morning we rose with very fine weather, and went
to dine in a smiling little place called Lacca. Here we obtained excel-
lent entertainment, and then engaged guides, who were returning to
a town called Surich. The guide who attended us went along the
dyked bank of a lake; there was no other road; and the dyke itself
was covered with water, so that the reckless fellow slipped, and fell
together with his horse beneath the water. I, who was but a few
steps behind him, stopped my horse, and waited to see the donkey
get out of the water. Just as if nothing had happened, he began to
sing again, and made signs to me to follow. I broke away upon the
right hand, and got through some hedges, making my young men
and Busbacca take that way. The guide shouted in German that if
the folk of those parts saw me they would put me to death. How-
ever, we passed forward, and escaped that other storm.
So we arrived at Surich, a marvellous city, bright and polished like
a little gem. There we rested a whole day, then left betimes one
morning, and reached another fair city called Solutorno. Thence we
came to Usanna, from Usanna to Ginevra, from Ginevra to Lione,
always singing and laughing. At Lione I rested four days, and had
much pleasant intercourse with some of my friends there; I was also
repaid what I had spent upon Busbacca; afterwards I set out upon
the road to Paris. This was a delightful journey, except that when
we reached Palissa 240 a band of venturers tried to murder us, 241 and
it was only by great courage and address that we got free from
them. From that point onward we travelled to Paris without the
least trouble in the world. Always singing and laughing, we arrived
safely at our destination.
XCVIII
AFTER TAKING some repose in Paris, I went to visit the painter Rosso,
who was in the King's service. I thought to find in him one of the
sincerest friends I had in the world, seeing that in Rome I had done
him the greatest benefits which one man can confer upon another.
As these may be described briefly, I will not here omit their mention,
in order to expose the shamclessness of such ingratitude. While; he
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was in Rome, then, being a man given to backbiting, he spoke so ill
of Raffaello da Urbino's works, that the pupils of the latter were
quite resolved to murder him. From this peril I saved him by keep-
ing a close watch upon him day and night. Again, the evil things
said by Rosso against San Gallo, 242 that excellent architect, caused
the latter to get work taken from him which he had previously
procured for him from Messer Agnolo da Cesi; and after this San
Gallo used his influence so strenuously against him that he must
have been brought to the verge of starvation, had not I pitied his
condition and lent him some scores of crowns to live upon. So, then,
not having been repaid, and knowing that he held employment
under the King, I went, as I have said, to look him up. I did not
merely expect him to discharge his debt, but also to show me
favour and assist in placing me in that great monarch's service.
When Rosso set eyes on me, his countenance changed suddenly,
and he exclaimed: "Benvenuto, you have taken this long journey at
great charges to your loss; especially at this present time, when
all men's thoughts are occupied with war, and not with the bagatelles
of our profession." I replied that I had brought money enough to
take me back to Rome as I had come to Paris, and that this was
not the proper return for the pains I had endured for him, and
that now I began to believe what Maestro Antonio da San Gallo
said of him. When he tried to turn the matter into jest on this
exposure of his baseness, I showed him a letter of exchange for five
hundred crowns upon Ricciardo del Bene. Then the rascal was
ashamed, and wanted to detain me almost by force; but I laughed
at him, and took my leave in the company of a painter whom I
found there. This man was called Sguazzella: 248 he too was a Floren-
tine; and I went to lodge in his house, with three horses and three
servants, at so much per week. He treated me very well, and was
even better paid by me in return.
Afterwards I sought audience of the King, through the intro-
duction of his treasurer, Messer Giuliano Buonaccorti. 244 I met,
however, with considerable delays, owing, as I did not then know,
to the strenuous exertions Rosso made against my admission to his
Majesty. When Messer Giuliano became aware of this, he took me
down at once to Fontana Bilio, 245 and brought me into the presence
of the King, who granted me a whole hour of very gracious audi-
ence. Since he was then on the point of setting out for Lyons, he
told Messer Giuliano to take me with him, adding that on the journey
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we could discuss some works of art his Majesty had it in his head to
execute. Accordingly, I followed the court; and on the way I
entered into close relations with the Cardinal of Ferrara, who had
not at that period obtained the hat. 246 Every evening I used to hold
long conversations with the Cardinal, in the course of which his
lordship advised me to remain at an abbey of his in Lyons, and
there to abide at ease until the King returned from this campaign,
adding that he was going on to Grenoble, and that I should enjoy
every convenience in the abbey.
When we reached Lyons I was already ill, and my lad Ascanio had
taken a quartan fever. The French and their court were both grown
irksome to me, and I counted the hours till I could find myself
again in Rome. On seeing my anxiety to return home, the Cardinal
gave me money sufficient for making him a silver basin and jug. So
we took good horses, and set our faces in the direction of Rome, pass-
ing the Simplon, and travelling for some while in the company of
certain Frenchmen; Ascanio troubled by his quartan, and I by a
low fever which I found it quite impossible to throw off. I had,
moreover, got my stomach out of order to such an extent, that for
the space of four months, as I verily believe, I hardly ate one whole
loaf of bread in the week; and great was my longing to reach Italy,
being desirous to die there rather than in France.
XCIX
WHEN WE HAD CROSSED the mountains of the Simplon, we came
to a river near a place called Indevedro. 247 It was broad and very
deep, spanned by a long narrow bridge without ramparts. That
morning a thick white frost had fallen; and when I reached the
bridge, riding before the rest, I recognised how dangerous it was,
and bade my servants and young men dismount and lead their horses.
So I got across without accident, and rode on talking with one of
the Frenchmen, whose condition was that of a gentleman. The other,
who was a scrivener, lagged a little way behind, jeering the French
gentleman and me because we had been so frightened by nothing at
all as to give ourselves the trouble of walking. I turned round, and
seeing him upon the middle of the bridge, begged him to come
gently, since the place was very dangerous. The fellow, true to
his French nature, cried out in French that I was a man of poor
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spirit, and that there was no danger whatsoever. While he spoke
these words and urged his horse forward, the animal suddenly
slipped over the bridge, and fell with legs in air close to a huge rock
there was there. Now God is very often merciful to madmen; so
the two beasts, human and equine, plunged together into a deep wide
pool, where both of them went down below the water. On seeing
what had happened, I set off running at full speed, scrambled with
much difficulty on to the rock, and dangling over from it, seized the
skirt of the scrivener's gown and pulled him up, for he was still
submerged beneath the surface. He had drunk his bellyful of water,
and was within an ace of being drowned. I then, beholding him out
of danger, congratulated the man upon my having been the means
of rescuing his life. The fellow to this answered me in French, that
I had done nothing; the important things to save were his writings,
worth many scores of crowns; and these words he seemed to say in
anger, dripping wet and spluttering the while. Thereupon, I turned
round to our guides, and ordered them to help the brute, adding
that I would see them paid. One of them with great address and
trouble set himself to the business, and picked up all the fellow's
writings, so that he lost not one of them; the other guide refused to
trouble himself by rendering any assistance.
I ought here to say that we had made a purse up, and that I
performed the part of paymaster. So, when we reached the place I
mentioned, and had dined, I drew some coins from the common
purse and gave them to the guide who helped to draw him from
the water. Thereupon the fellow called out that I might pay them
out of my own pocket; he had no intention of giving the man more
than what had been agreed on for his services as guide. Upon this
I retorted with insulting language. Then the other guide, who had
done nothing, came up and demanded to be rewarded also. I told
him that the one who had borne the cross deserved the recompense.
He cried out that he would presently show me a cross which
should make me repent. I replied that I would light a candle at that
cross, which should, I hoped, make him to be the first to weep his
folly. The village we were in lay on the frontier between Venice and
the Germans. So the guide ran off to bring the folk together, and
came, followed by a crowd, with a boar-spear in his hand. Mounted
cm my good steed, I lowered the barrel of my arquebuse, and turn*
ing to my comrades, cried: "At the first shot I shall bring that
fellow down; do you likewise your duty, for these are highway
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robbers, who have used this little incident to contrive our murder.*'
The innkeeper at whose house we had dined called one of the lead-
ers, an imposing old man, and begged him to put a stop to the dis-
order, saying: "This is a most courageous young man; you may
cut him to pieces, but he will certainly kill a lot of you, and per-
haps will escape your hands after doing all the mischief he is able."
So matters calmed down: and the old man, their leader, said to me:
"Go in peace; you would not have much to boast of against us,
even if you had a hundred men to back you." I recognised the truth
of his words, and had indeed made up my mind to die among them;
therefore, when no further insults were cast at me, I shook my head
and exclaimed: "I should certainly have done my utmost to prove
I am no statue, but a man of flesh and spirit." Then we resumed our
journey; and that evening, at the first lodging we came to, settled
our accounts together. There I parted forever from that beast of a
Frenchman, remaining on very friendly terms with the other, who
was a gentleman. Afterwards I reached Ferrara, with my three horses
and no other company.
Having dismounted, I went to court in order to pay my reverence
to the Duke, and gain permission to depart next morning for Loreto.
When I had waited until two hours after nightfall, his Excellency
appeared. I kissed his hands; he received me with much courtesy, and
ordered that water should be brought for me to wash my hands
before eating. To this compliment I made a pleasant answer: "Most
excellent lord, it is now more than four months that I have eaten
only just enough to keep life together; knowing therefore that I
could not enjoy the delicacies of your royal table, I will stay and
talk with you while your Excellency is supping; in this way we
shall both have more pleasure than if I were to sup with you." Ac-
cordingly, we entered into conversation, and prolonged it for the
next three hours. At that time I took my leave, and when I got back
to the inn, found a most excellent meal ready; for the Duke had
sent me the plates from his own banquet, together with some famous
wine. Having now fasted two full hours beyond my usual hour for
supping, I fell to with hearty appetite; and this was the first time
since four months that I felt the power or will to eat.
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LEAVING FERRARA in the morning, I went to Santa Maria at Loreto;
and thence, having performed my devotions, pursued the journey
to Rome. There I found my most faithful Felice, to whom I
abandoned my old shop with all its furniture and appurtenances,
and opened another, much larger and roomier, next to Sugherello,
the perfumer. I thought for certain that the great King Francis
would not have remembered me. Therefore I accepted commissions
from several noblemen; and in the meanwhile began the basin and
jug ordered by the Cardinal of Ferrara. I had a crowd of workmen,
and many large affairs on hand in gold and silver.
Now the arrangement I had made with that Perugian workman 248
was that he should write down all the moneys which had been dis-
bursed on his account, chiefly for clothes and divers other sundries
and these, together with the costs of travelling, amounted to about
seventy crowns. We agreed that he should discharge the debt by
monthly payments of three crowns; and this he was well able to
do, since he gained more than eight through me. At the end of two
months the rascal decamped from my shop, leaving me in the lurch
with a mass of business on my hands, and saying that he did nor
mean to pay me a farthing more. I was resolved to seek redress,
but allowed myself to be persuaded to do so by the way of justice.
At first I thought of lopping off an arm of his; and assuredly I
should have done so, if my friends had not told me that it was a
mistake, seeing I should lose my money and perhaps Rome too a
second time, forasmuch as blows cannot be measured, and that with
die agreement I held of his I could at any moment have him taken
up. I listened to their advice, though I should have liked to conduct
the affair more freely. As a matter of fact, I sued him before the
auditor of the Camera, and gained my suit; in consequence of that
decree, for which I waited several months, I had him thrown into
prison. At the same time I was overwhelmed with large commissions.;
among others, I had to supply all the ornaments of gold and jewels
for the wife of Signer Gierolimo Orsino, father of Signer Paolo,
who is now the son-in-law of our Duke Cosimo. 249 These things I
had nearly finished; yet others of the greatest consequence were
always coming in. I employed eight work-people, and worked day
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and night together with them, for the sake alike of honour and
of gain.
CI
WHILE i WAS ENGAGED in prosecuting my affairs with so much vigour,
there arrived a letter sent post-haste to me by the Cardinal of Fer-
rara, which ran as follows: "Benvenuto, our dear friend, During
these last days the most Christian King here made mention of you,
and said that he should like to have you in his service. Whereto I
answered that you had promised me, whenever I sent for you to serve
His Majesty, that you would come at once. His Majesty then an-
swered: 'It is my will that provision for his journey, according to
his merits, should be sent him 9 ; and immediately ordered his Admiral
to make me out an order for one thousand golden crowns upon
the treasurer of the Exchequer. The Cardinal de' Gaddi, who was
present at this conversation, advanced immediately, and told his
Majesty that it was not necessary to make these dispositions, seeing
that he had sent you money enough, and that you were already on
the journey. If then, as I think probable, the facts are quite con-
trary to those assertions of Cardinal Gaddi, reply to me without
delay upon the receipt of this letter; for I will undertake to gather
up the fallen thread, and have the promised money given you by
this magnanimous King."
Now let the world take notice, and all the folk that dwell on it,
what power malignant stars with adverse fortune exercise upon us
human beings! I had not spoken twice in my lifetime to that little
simpleton of a Cardinal de' Gaddi; nor do I think that he meant
by this bumptiousness of his to do me any harm, but only, through
light-headedness and senseless folly, to make it seem as though he
also held the affairs of artists, whom the King was wanting, under
his own personal supervision, just as the Cardinal of Ferrara did.
But afterwards he was so stupid as not to tell me anything at all
about the matter; elsewise, it is certain that my wish to shield a
silly mannikin from reproach, if only for our country's sake, would
have made me find out some excuse to mend the bungling of his
foolish self-conceit.
Immediately upon the receipt of Cardinal Ferrara's letter, I an-
swered that about Cardinal de' Gaddi I knew absolutely nothing,
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and that even if he had made overtures of that kind to me, I should
not have left Italy without informing his most reverend lordship. I
also said that I had more to do in Rome than at any previous time;
but that if his Most Christian Majesty made sign of wanting me, one
word of his, communicated by so great a prince as his most reverend
lordship, would suffice to make me set off upon the spot, leaving all
other concerns to take their chance.
After I had sent my letter, that traitor, the Perugian workman,
devised a piece of malice against me, which succeeded at once, owing
to the avarice of Pope Paolo da Farnese, but also far more to that
of his bastard, who was then called Duke of Castro. 250 The fellow
in question informed one of Signor Pier Luigi's secretaries that,
having been with me as workman several years, he was acquainted
with all my affairs, on the strength of which he gave his word to
Signor Pier Luigi that I was worth more than eighty thousand
ducats, and that the greater part of this property consisted in jewels,
which jewels belonged to the Church, and that I had stolen them in
Castel Sant' Agnolo during the sack of Rome, and that all they had
to do was to catch me on the spot with secrecy.
It so happened that I had been at work one morning, more than
three hours before daybreak, upon the trousseau of the bride I men-
tioned; then, while my shop was being opened and swept out, I put
my cape on to go abroad and take the air. Directing my steps along
the Strada Giulia, I turned into Chiavica, and at this corner Crespino,
the Bargello, with all his constables, made up to me, and said: "You
are the Pope's prisoner." I answered: "Crespino, you have mistaken
your man." "No," said Crespino, "you are the artist Benvenuto,
and I know you well, and I have to take you to the Castle of Sant'
Angelo, where lords go, and men of accomplishments, your peers."
Upon that four of his under-officers rushed on me, and would have
seized by force a dagger which I wore, and some rings I carried on
my finger; but Crespino rebuked them: "Not a man of you shall
touch him; it is quite enough if you perform your duty, and see that
he does not escape me." Then he came up, and begged me with
words of courtesy to surrender my arms. While I was engaged in
doing this, it crossed my mind that exactly on that very spot I had
assassinated Pompeo. They took me straightway to the castle, and
locked me in an upper chamber in the keep. This was the first time
that I ever smelt a prison up to the age I then had of thirty-seven
years.
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CII
SIGNOR PIER LUIGI, the Pope's son, had well considered the large sum
for which I stood accused; so he begged the reversion of it from his
most holy father, and asked that he might have the money made
out to himself. The Pope granted this willingly, adding that he
would assist in its recovery. Consequently, after having kept me
eight whole days in prison, they sent me up for examination, in
order to put an end if possible to the affair. I was summoned into
one of the great halls of the papal castle, a place of much dignity. My
examiners were, first, the Governor of Rome, called Messer Bene-
detto Conversini of Pistoja, 251 who afterwards became Bishop of
Jesi; secondly, the Procurator-Fiscal, whose name I have forgot-
ten; 252 and, thirdly, the judge in criminal cases, Messer Benedetto da
Cagli. These three men began at first to question me in gentle
terms, which afterwards they changed to words of considerable
harshness and menace, apparently because I said to them: "My
lords, it is more than half-an-hour now since you have been pester-
ing me with questions about fables and such things, so that one may
truly say you are chattering or prattling; by chattering I mean talk-
ing without reason, by prattling I mean talking nonsense: therefore
I beg you to tell me what it really is you want of me, and to let
me hear from your lips reasonable speech, and not jabberings or
nonsense." In reply to these words of mine, the Governor, who was
a Pistojan, could no longer disguise his furious temper, and began:
"You talk very confidently, or rather far too arrogantly; but let me
tell you that I will bring your pride down lower than a spaniel by
the words of reason you shall hear from me; these will be neither
jabberings nor nonsense, as you have it, but shall form a chain of
arguments to answer which you will be forced to tax the utmost
of your wits." Then he began to speak as follows: "We know for
certain that you were in Rome at the time when this unhappy city
was subject to the calamity of the sack; at that time you were in
this Castle of Sant' Angelo, and were employed as bombardier.
Now since you are a jeweller and goldsmith by trade, Pope Clement,
being previously acquainted with you, and having by him no one
else of your profession, called you into his secret counsels, and made
you unset all the jewels of his tiaras, mitres, and rings; afterwards,
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having confidence in you, he ordered you to sew them into his
clothes. While thus engaged, you sequestered, unknown to his Holi-
ness, a portion of them, to the value of eighty thousand crowns.
This has been told us by one of your workmen, to whom you dis-
closed the matter in your braggadocio way. Now, we tell you
frankly that you must find the jewels, or their value in money: after
that we will release you."
GUI
WHEN i HEARD THESE WORDS, I could not hold from bursting into a
great roar of laughter; then, having laughed awhile, I said: "Thanks
be to God that on this first occasion, when it has pleased His
Divine Majesty to imprison me, I should not be imprisoned for
some folly, as the wont is usually with young men. If what you say
were the truth, I run no risk of having to submit to corporal punish-
ment, since the authority of the law was suspended during that
season. Indeed, I could excuse myself by saying that, like a faithful
servant, I had kept back treasure to that amount for the sacred and
holy Apostolic Church, waiting till I could restore it to a good
Pope, or else to those who might require it of me; as, for instance,
you might, if this were verily the case." When I had spoken so far,
the furious Governor would not let me conclude my argument,
but exclaimed in a burst of rage: "Interpret the affair as you like
best, Benvenuto; it is enough for us to have found the property
which we had lost; be quick about it, if you do not want us to use
other measures than words." Then they began to rise and leave the
chamber; but I stopped them, crying out: "My lords, my examina-
tion is not over; bring that to an end, and go then where you choose."
They resumed their seats in a very angry temper, making as though
they did not mean to listen to a word I said, and at the same time
half relieved, 258 as though they had discovered all they wanted to
know. I then began my speech, to this effect: "You are to know, my
lords, that it is now some twenty years since I first came to Rome,
and I have never been sent to prison here or elsewhere." On this
that catchpole of a Governor called out: "And yet you have killed
men enough here!" I replied: "It is you that say it, and not I; but
if some one came to kill you, priest as you are, you would defend
yourself, and if you killed him, the sanctity of law would hold you
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
justified. Therefore let me continue my defence, if you wish to re-
port the case to the Pope, and to judge me fairly. Once more I tell
you that I have been a sojourner in this marvellous city Rome for
nigh on twenty years, and here I have exercised my art in matters
of vast importance. Knowing that this is the seat of Christ, I enter-
tained the reasonable belief that when some temporal prince sought
to inflict on me a mortal injury, I might have recourse to this holy
chair and to this Vicar of Christ, in confidence that he would surely
uphold my cause. Ah me! whither am I now to go? What prince
is there who will protect me from this infamous assassination? Was
it not your business, before you took me up, to find out what I had
done with those eighty thousand ducats? Was it not your duty to
inspect the record of the jewels, which have been carefully inscribed
by this Apostolic Camera through the last five hundred years? If
you had discovered anything missing on that record, then you ought
to have seized all my books together with myself. I tell you for a
certainty that the registers, on which are written all the jewels of
the Pope and the regalia, must be perfectly in order; you will not
find there missing a single article of value which belonged to Pope
Clement that has not been minutely noted. The one thing of die
kind which occurs to me is this: When that poor man Pope Clement
wanted to make terms with those thieves of the Imperial army, who
had robbed Rome and insulted the Church, a certain Cesare Is-
catinaro, if I rightly remember his name, came to negotiate with
him; 254 and having nearly concluded the agreement the Pope in his
extremity, to show the man some mark of favour, let fall a diamond
from his finger, which was worth about four thousand crowns, and
when Iscatinaro stooped to pick it up, the Pope told him to keep
it for his sake. I was present at these transactions: and if the diamond
of which I speak be missing, I have told you where it went; but I
have the firmest conviction that you will find even this noted upon
the register. After this you may blush at your leisure for having
done such cruel injustice to a man like me, who has performed so
many honourable services for the apostolic chair. I would have you
know that, but for me, the morning when the Imperial troops
entered the Borgo, they would without let or hindrance have forced
their way into the castle. It was I who, unrewarded for this act,
betook myseff with vigour to the guns which had been abandoned
by the cannoneers and soldiers of the ordnance. I put spirit into my
comrade Raff aello da Montelupo, the sculptor, who had also left his
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
post and hid himself all frightened in a corner, without stirring
foot or finger; I woke his courage up, and he and I alone together
slew so many of the enemies that the soldiers took another road. I it
was who shot at Iscatinaro when I saw him talking to Pope Clement
without the slightest mark of reverence, nay, with the most revolt-
ing insolence, like the Lutheran and infidel he was. Pope Clement
upon this had the castle searched to find and hang the man who
did it. I it was who wounded the Prince of Orange in the head
down there below the trenches of the castle. Then, too, how many
ornaments of silver, gold, and jewels, how many models and coins,
so beautiful and so esteemed, have I not made for Holy Church!
Is this then the presumptuous priestly recompense you give a man
who has served and loved you with such loyalty, with such mastery
of art? Oh, go and report the whole that I have spoken to the Pope;
go and tell him that his jewels are all in his possession; that I never
received from the Church anything but wounds and stonings at
that epoch of the sack; that I never reckoned upon any gain beyond
some small remuneration from Pope Paolo, which he had promised
me. Now at last I know what to think of his Holiness and you his
Ministers."
While I was delivering this speech, they sat and listened in
astonishment. Then exchanging glances one with the other, and
making signs of much surprise, they left me. All three went to-
gether to report what I had spoken to the Pope. The Pope felt some
shame, and gave orders that all the records of the jewels should be
diligently searched. When they had ascertained that none were miss-
ing, they left me in the castle without saying a word more about
it. Signer Pier Luigi felt also that he had acted ill; and to end the
affair, they set about to contrive my death.
CIV
DURING THE AGITATIONS of this time which I have just related, King
Francis received news of how the Pope was keeping me in prison,
and with what injustice. He had sent a certain gentleman of his,
named Monsignor di Morluc, as his ambassador to Rome; 200 to
him therefore he now wrote, claiming me from the Pope as the
man of his Majesty. The Pope was a person of extraordinary sense
and ability, but in this affair of mine he behaved weakly and unin-
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tdligcndy; for he made answer to the King's envoy that his Majesty
need pay me no attention, since I was a fellow who gave much
trouble by fighting; therefore he advised his Majesty to leave me
alone, adding that he kept me in prison for homicides and other
devilries which I had played. To this the King sent answer that
justice in his realm was excellently maintained; for even as his
Majesty was wont to shower rewards and favours upon men of parts
and virtue, so did he ever chastise the troublesome. His Holiness had
let me go, not caring for the service of the said Benvenuto, and the
King, when he saw him in his realm, most willingly adopted him;
therefore he now asked for him in the quality of his own man. Such
a demand was certainly one of the most honourable marks of
favour which a man of my sort could desire; yet it proved the source
of infinite annoyance and hurt to me. The Pope was roused to such
fury by the jealous fear he had lest I should go and tell the whole
world how infamously I had been treated, that he kept revolving ways
in which I might be put to death without injury to his own credit.
The castellan of Sant' Angelo was one of our Florentines, called
Messer Giorgio, a knight of the Ugolini family. 258 This worthy man
showed me the greatest courtesy, and let me go free about the castle
on parole. He was well aware how greatly I had been wronged;
and when I wanted to give security for leave to walk about the
castle, he replied that though he could not take that, seeing the
Pope set too much importance upon my affair, yet he would frankly
trust my word, because he was informed by every one what a worthy
man I was. So I passed my parole, and he granted me conveniences
for working at my trade. I then, reflecting that the Pope's anger
against me must subside, as well because of my innocence as because
of the favour shown me by the King, kept my shop in Rome open,
while Ascanio, my prentice, came to the castle and brought me
things to work at. I could not indeed do much, feeling myself im-
prisoned so unjustly; yet I made a virtue of necessity, and bore my
adverse fortune with as light a heart as I was able.
I had secured the attachment of all the guards and many soldiers
of the castle. Now the Pope used to come at times to sup there, and
on those occasions no watch was kept, but the place stood open like
an ordinary palace. Consequently, while the Pope was there, the
prisoners used to be shut up with great precautions; none such,
however, were taken with me, who had the license to go where I
liked, even at those times, about its precincts. Often then those
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soldiers told me that I ought to escape, and that they would aid
and abet me, knowing as they did how greatly I had been wronged.
I answered that I had given my parole to the castellan, who was such
a worthy man, and had done me such kind offices. One very brave
and clever soldier used to say to me: "My Benvenuto, you must
know that a prisoner is not obliged, and cannot be obliged, to keep
faith, any more than aught else which befits a free man. Do what
I tell you; escape from that rascal of a Pope and that bastard his
son, for both are bent on having your life by villainy." I had, how-
ever, made my mind up rather to lose my life than to break the
promise I had given that good man the castellan. So I bore the
extreme discomforts of my situation, and had for companion of
misery a friar of the Palavisina house, who was a very famous
preacher. 2 "
CV
THIS MAN had been arrested as a Lutheran. He was an excellent com*
panion; but, from the point of view of his religion, I found him the
biggest scoundrel in die world, to whom all kinds of vices were
acceptable. His fine intellectual qualities won my admiration; but I
hated his dirty vices, and frankly taxed him with them. This friar
kept perpetually reminding me that I was in no wise bound to
observe faith with the castellan, since I had become a prisoner. I
replied to these arguments that he might be speaking the truth as a
friar, but that as a man he spoke the contrary; for every one who
called himself a man, and not a monk, was bound to keep his word
under all circumstances in which he chanced to be. I therefore
being a man, and not a monk, was not going to break the simple
and loyal word which I had given. Seeing then that he could not sap
my honour by the subtle and ingenious sophistries he so eloquently
developed, the friar hit upon another way of tempting me. He al-
lowed some days to pass, during which he read me the sermons of Fra
Jerolimo Savonarola; and these he expounded with such lucidity
and learning that his comment was even finer than the text. I re-
mained in ecstasies of admiration; and there was nothing in the
world I would not have done for him, except, as I have said, to break
my promised word. When he saw the effect his talents had produced
upon my mind, he thought of yet another method. Cautiously he
began to ask what means I should have taken, supposing my jailors
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
had locked me up, in order to set the dungeoiy doo*s open and
effect my flight. I then, who wanted to display the sharpness of my
own wits to so ingenious a man, replied that I was quite sure of
being able to open the most baffling locks and bars, far more those
of our prison, to do which would be the same to me as eating a bit
of new cheese. In order then to gain my secret, the friar now made
light of these assertions, averring that persons who have gained some
credit by their abilities, are wont to talk big of things which, if
they had to put their boasts in action, would speedily discredit them,
and much to their dishonour. Himself had heard me speak so far
from the truth, that he was inclined to think I should, when pushed
to proof, end in a dishonourable failure. Upon this, feeling myself
stung to the quick by that devil of a friar, I responded that I always
made a practice of promising in words less than I could perform
in deeds; what I said about the keys was the merest trifle; in a few
words I could make him understand that the matter was as I had
told it; then, all too heedlessly, I demonstrated the facility with
which my assertions could be carried into act. He affected to pay
little attention; but all the same he learned my lesson well by heart
with keen intelligence.
As I have said above, the worthy castellan let me roam at pleasure
over the whole fortress. Not even at night did he lock me in, as was
the custom with the other prisoners. Moreover, he allowed me to
employ myself as I liked best, with gold or silver or with wax
according to my whim. So then I laboured several weeks at the
basin ordered by Cardinal Ferrara, but the irksomeness of my im-
prisonment bred in me a disgust for such employment, and I took
to modelling in wax some little figures of my fancy, for mere
recreation. Of the wax which I used, the friar stole a piece; and with
this he proceeded to get false keys made, upon the method I had
heedlessly revealed to him. He had chosen for his accomplice a
registrar named Luigi, a Paduan, who was in the castellan's service.
When the keys were ordered, the locksmith revealed their plot;
and the castellan, who came at times to see me in my chamber,
noticing the wax which I was using, recognised it at once and ex-
claimed: "It is true that this poor fellow Benvenuto has suffered a
most grievous wrong; yet he ought not to have dealt thus with me,
for I have ever strained my sense of right to show him kindness.
Now I shall keep him straitly under lock and key, and shall take
good care to do him no more service." Accordingly, he had me
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BE3MVENUTO CELLINI
shut up with disagreeable circumstances, among the worst of which
were the words flung at me by some of his devoted servants, who
were indeed extremely fond of me, but now, on this occasion, cast
in my teeth all the kind offices the castellan had done me; they came,
in fact, to calling me ungrateful, light, and disloyal. One of them in
particular used those injurious terms more insolently than was
decent; whereupon I, being convinced of my innocence, retorted
hotly that I had never broken faith, and would maintain these words
at the peril of my life, and that if he or any of his fellows abused me
so unjusdy, I would fling the lie back in his throat. The man, in-
tolerant of my rebuke, rushed to the castellan's room, and brought
me the wax with the model of the keys. No sooner had I seen the
Wax than I told him that both he and I were in the right; but I
begged him to procure for me an audience with the castellan, for I
meant to explain frankly how the matter stood, which was of far
more consequence than they imagined. The castellan sent for me at
once, and I told him the whole course of events. This made him
arrest the friar, who betrayed the registrar, and the latter ran a risk
of being hanged. However, the castellan hushed the affair up, al-
though it had reached the Pope's ears; he saved his registrar from
the gallows, and gave me the same freedom as I had before.
CVI
WHEN i SAW how rigorously the affair was prosecuted, I began to
think of my own concerns, and said: "Supposing another of these
storms should rise, and the man should lose confidence in me, I should
then be under no obligation to him, and might wish to use my wits
a little, which would certainly work their end better than those
of that rascally friar." So I began to have new sheets of coarse fabric
brought me, and did not send the dirty ones away. When my
servants asked for them, I bade them hold their tongues, saying I
had given the sheets to some of those poor soldiers; and if the
matter came to knowledge, the wretched fellows ran risk of the
galleys. This made my young men and attendants, especially Felice,
keep the secret of the sheets in all loyalty. I meanwhile set myself
to emptying a straw mattress, the stuffing of which I burned, having
a chimney in my prison. Out of the sheets I cut strips, the third of
a cubit in breadth; and when I had made enough in my opinion to
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
clear the great height of the central keep of Sant' Agnolo, I told
my servants that I had given away what I wanted; they must now
bring me others of a finer fabric, and I would always send back the
dirty ones. This affair was presently forgotten.
Now my work-people and serving-men were obliged to close my
shop at the order of the Cardinals Santi Quattro 258 and Cornaro, who
told me openly that the Pope would not hear of setting me at large,
and that the great favours shown me by King Francis had done far
more harm than good. It seems that the last words spoken from the
King by Monsignor di Morluc had been to this effect, namely, that
the Pope ought to hand me over to the ordinary judges of the
court; if I had done wrong, he could chastise me; but otherwise,
it was but reason that he should set me at liberty. This message so
irritated the Pope that he made his mind up to keep me a prisoner
for life. At the same time, the castellan most certainly did his utmost
to assist me.
When my enemies perceived that my shop was closed, they lost
no opportunity of taunting and reviling those servants and friends
of mine who came to visit me in prison. It happened on one occa-
sion that Ascanio, who came twice a day to visit me, asked to have
a jacket cut out for him from a blue silk vest of mine I never used
I had only worn it once, on the occasion when I walked in proces-
sion. I replied that these were not times nor was I in the place to
wear such clothes. The young man took my refusal of this miserable
vest so ill that he told me he wanted to go home to Tagliacozzo. All
in a rage, I answered that he could not please me better than by
taking himself off; and he swore with passion that he would never
show his face to me again. When these words passed between us,
we were walking round the keep of the casde. It happened that the
castellan was also taking the air there; so just when we met his
lordship Ascanio said: "I am going away; farewell forever!" I added:
"Forever, is my wish too; and thus in sooth shall it be. I shall tell
the sentinels not to let you pass again! " Then, turning to the castellan,
I begged him with all my heart to order the guards to keep Ascanio
out, adding: "This little peasant comes here to add to my great
trouble; I entreat you, therefore, my lord, not to let him enter any
more." The castellan was much grieved, because he knew him to be
a lad of marvellous talents; he was, moreover, so fair of person
that every one who once set eyes on him seemed bound to love him
beyond measure.
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The boy went away weeping. That day he had with him a small
scimitar, which it was at times his wont to carry hidden beneath
his clothes. Leaving the castle then, and having his face wet with
tears, he chanced to meet two of my chief enemies, Jeronimo the
Perugian, 259 and a certain Michele, goldsmiths both of them. Michele,
being Jeronimo's friend and Ascanio's enemy, called out: "What is
Ascanio crying for? Perhaps his father is dead; I mean that father
in the castle!" Ascanio answered on the instant: "He is alive, but
you shall die this minute." Then, raising his hand, he struck two
blows with the scimitar, both at the fellow's head; the first felled
him to earth, the second lopped three fingers off his right hand,
though it was aimed at his head. He lay there like a dead man. The
matter was at once reported to the Pope, who cried in a great fury:
"Since the King wants him to be tried, go and give him three days
to prepare his defence!" So they came, and executed the commission
which the Pope had given them.
The excellent castellan went off upon the spot to his Holiness,
and informed him that I was no accomplice in the matter, and that
I had sent Ascanio about his business. So ably did he plead my cause
that he saved my life from this impending tempest. Ascanio mean-
while escaped to Tagliacozzo, to his home there, whence he wrote
begging a thousand times my pardon, and acknowledging his wrong
in adding troubles to my grave disaster; but protesting that if through
God's grace I came out from the prison, he meant never to abandon
me. I let him understand that he must mind his art, and that if God
set me at large again I would certainly recall him.
CVII
THE CASTELLAN was subject to a certain sickness, which came upon
him every year and deprived him of his wits. The sign of its ap-
proach was that he kept continually talking, or rather jabbering, to
no purpose. These humours took a different shape each year; one
time he thought he was an oil-jar; another time he thought he was
a frog, and hopped about as frogs do; another time he thought he
was dead, and then they had to bury him; not a year passed but he got
some such hypochondriac notions into his head. At this season he
imagined that he was a bat, and when he went abroad to take the
air, he used to scream like bats in a high thin tone; and then he would
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
flap his hands and body as though he were about to fly. The doctors,
when they saw the fit was coming on him, and his old servants, gave
him all the distractions they could think of; and since they had
noticed that he derived much pleasure from my conversation, they
were always fetching me to keep him company. At times the poor
man detained me for four or five stricken hours without ever
letting me cease talking. He used to keep me at his table, eating op-
posite to him, and never stopped chatting and making me chat;
but during these discourses I contrived to make a good meal. He,
poor man, could neither eat nor sleep; so that at last he wore me
out. I was at the end of my strength; and sometimes "when I looked
at him, I noticed that his eyeballs were rolling in a frightful man-
ner, one looking one way and the other in another.
He took it into his head to ask me whether I had ever had a
fancy to fly. I answered that it had always been my ambition to do
those things which offer the greatest difficulties to men, and that I
had done them; as to flying, the God of Nature had gifted me with
a body well suited for running and leaping far beyond the common
average, and that with the talents I possessed for manual art I felt
sure I had the courage to try flying. He then inquired what methods
I should use; to which I answered that, taking into consideration all
flying creatures, and wishing to imitate by art what they derived
from nature, none was so apt a model as the bat. No sooner had the
poor man heard the name bat, which recalled the humour he was
suffering under, than he cried out at the top of his voice: "He says
true he says true; the bat's the thing the bat's the thing!" Then he
turned to me and said: "Benvenuto, if one gave you the opportunity,
should you have the heart to fly?" I said that if he would set me at
liberty, I felt quite up to flying down to Prati, after making myself
a pair of wings out of waxed linen. Thereupon he replied: "I too
should be prepared to take flight; but since the Pope has bidden me
guard you as though you were his own eyes, and I know you a clever
devil who would certainly escape, I shall now have you locked up
with a hundred keys in order to prevent you slipping through my
fingers." I then began to implore him, and remind him that I might
have fled, but that on account of the word which I had given him I
would never have betrayed his trust: therefore I begged him for the
love of God, and by the kindness he had always shown me, not to
add greater evils to the misery of my present situation. While I
was pouring out these entreaties, he gave strict orders to have me
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELUNI
bound and taken and locked up in prison. On seeing that k could not
be helped, I told him before all his servants: "Lock me well up, and
keep good watch on me; for I shall certainly contrive to escape." So
they took and confined me with the utmost care.
CVIII
I THEN BEGAN to deliberate upon the best way of making my escape.
No sooner had I been locked in, than I went about exploring my
prison; and when I thought I had discovered how to get out of it,
I pondered the means of descending from the lofty keep, for so the
great round central tower is called. I took those new sheets of mine,
which, as I have said already, I had cut in strips and sewn together;
then I reckoned up the quantity which would be sufficient for my
purpose. Having made this estimate and put all things in order, I
looked out a pair of pincers which I had abstracted from a Savoyard
belonging to the guard of the castle. This man superintended the
casks and cisterns; he also amused himself with carpentering. Now
he possessed several pairs of pincers, among which was one both
big and heavy. I then, thinking it would suit my purpose, took it
and hid it in my straw mattress. The time had now come for me to
use it; so I began to try the nails which kept the hinges of my door
in place. 260 The door was double, and the clinching of the nails
could not be seen, so that when I attempted to draw one out, I met
with the greatest trouble; in the end, however, I succeeded. When
I had drawn the first nail, I bethought me how to prevent its being
noticed. For this purpose I mixed some rust, which I had scraped
from old iron, with a little wax, obtaining exactly the same colour
as the heads of the long nails which I had extracted. Then I set my-
self to counterfeit these heads and place them on the holdfasts; for
each nail I extracted I made a counterfeit in wax. I left the hinges
attached to their door-posts at top and bottom by means of some
of the same nails that I had drawn; but I took care to cut these and
replace them lightly, so that they only just supported the irons of
the hinges.
All this I performed with the greatest difficulty, because the
castellan kept dreaming every night that I had escaped, which made
him send from rime to time to inspect my prison. The man who
came had die tide and behaviour of a catchpole. He was called Bozza,
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and used always to bring with him another of die same sort, named
Giovanni and nicknamed Pedignone; the latter was a soldier, and
Bozza a serving-man. Giovanni never entered my prison without
saying something offensive to me. He came from the district of
Prato, and had been an apothecary in the town there. Every eve-
ning he minutely examined the holdfasts of the hinges and the whole
chamber, and I used to say: "Keep a good watch over me, for I
am resolved by all means to escape." These words bred a great enmity
between him and me, so that I was obliged to use precautions to
conceal my tools, that is to say, my pincers and a great big poniard
and other appurtenances. All these I put away together in my mat-
tress, where I also kept the strips of linen I had made. When day broke,
I used immediately to sweep my room out; and though I am by
nature a lover of cleanliness, at that time I kept myself unusually
spic and span. After sweeping up, I made my bed as daintily as I
could, laying flowers upon it, which a Savoyard used to bring me
nearly every morning. He had the care of the cistern and the
casks, and also amused himself with carpentering; it was from him
I stole the pincers which I used in order to draw out the nails from
the holdfasts of the hinges.
CIX
WELL, TO RETURN to the subject of my bed; when Bozza and Pe-
dignone came, I always told them to give it a wide berth, so as not to
dirty and spoil it for me. Now and then, just to irritate me, they
would touch it lightly, upon which I cried: "Ah, dirty cowards!
I'll lay my hand on one of your swords there, and will do you a
mischief that will make you wonder. Do you think you are fit to
touch the bed of a man like me? When I chastise you I shall not
heed my own life, for I am certain to take yours. Let me alone then
with my troubles and my tribulations, and don't give me more
annoyance than I have already; if not, I shall make you see what a
desperate man is able to do." These words they reported to the
castellan, who gave them express orders never to go near my bed,
and when they came to me, to come without swords, but for the
rest to keep a watchful guard upon me.
Having thus secured my bed from meddlers, I felt as though the
main point was gained; for there lay all things needful to my ven-
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
tore. It happened on the evening of a certain feast-day that the cas-
tellan was seriously indisposed; his humours grew extravagant; he
kept repeating that he was a bat, and if they heard that Benvenuto
had flown away, they must let him go to catch me up, since he could
fly by night most certainly as well or better than myself; for it was
thus he argued: "Benvenuto is a counterfeit bat, but I am a real one;
and since he is committed to my care, leave me to act; I shall be sure
to catch him. 9 ' He had passed several nights in this frenzy, and had
worn out all his servants, whereof I received full information through
divers channels, but specially from the Savoyard, who was my friend
at heart.
On the evening of that feast-day, then, I made my mind up to
escape, come what might; and first I prayed most devoutly to God,
imploring His Divine Majesty to protect and succour me in that
so perilous a venture. Afterwards I set to work at all the things I
needed, and laboured the whole of the night. It was two hours
before daybreak when at last I removed those hinges with the great-
est toil; but the wooden panel itself and the bolt too offered such
resistance that I could not open the door; so I had to cut into the
wood; yet in the end I got it open, and shouldering the strips of linen
which I had rolled up like bundles of flax upon two sticks, I went
forth and directed my steps toward the latrines of the keep. Spying
from within two tiles upon the roof, I was able at once to clamber
up with ease. I wore a white doublet with a pair of white hose and
a pair of half boots, into which I had stuck the poniard I have men-
tioned.
After scaling the roof, I took one end of my linen roll and at-
tached it to a piece of antique tile which was built into the fortress
wall; it happened to jut out scarcely four fingers. In order to fix
the band, I gave it the form of a stirrup. When I had attached
it to that piece of tile, I turned to God and said: "Lord God, give
aid to my good cause; you know that it is good; you see that I am
aiding myself." Then I let myself go gently by degrees, supporting
myself with the sinews of my arms, until I touched the ground.
There was no moonshine, but the light of a fair open heaven. When
I stood upon my feet on solid earth, I looked up at the vast height
which I had descended with such spirit, and went gladly away,
thinking I was free. But this was not the case; for the castellan on
that side of the fortress had built two lofty walls, the space between
which he used for stable and henyard; the place was barred with
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
thick iron bolts outside. I was terribly disgusted to find there was
no exit from this trap; but while I paced up and down debating what
to do, I stumbled on a long pole which was covered up with straw*
Not without great trouble I succeeded in placing it against the wall,
and then swarmed up it by the force of my arms until I reached the
top. But since the wall ended in a sharp ridge, I had not strength
enough to drag the pole up after me* Accordingly I made my mind
up to use a portion of the second roll of linen which I had there;
the other was left hanging from the keep of the castle. So I cut *
piece off , tied it to the pole, and clambered down the wall, enduring
the utmost toil and fatigue. I was quite exhausted, and had, more-
over, flayed the inside of my hands, which bled freely. This com-
pelled me to rest awhile, and I bathed my hands in my own urine.
When I thought that my strength was recovered, I advanced quickly
toward the last rampart, which faces toward Prari. There I put my
bundle of linen lines down upon the ground, meaning to fasten
them round a battlement, and descend the lesser as I had the greater
height. But no sooner had I placed the linen, than I became aware
behind me of a sentinel, who was going the rounds. Seeing my de-
signs interrupted and my life in peril, I resolved to face the guard.
This fellow, when he noticed my bold front, and that I was march-
ing on him with a weapon in hand, quickened his pace and gave me
a wide berth. I had left my lines some little way behind; so I turned
with hasty steps to regain them; and though I came within sight
of another sentinel, he seemed as though he did not choose to take
notice of me. Having found my lines and attached them to the
battlement, I let myself go. On the descent, whether it was that I
thought I had really come to earth and relaxed my grasp to jump,
or whether my hands were so tired that they could not keep their
hold, at any rate I fell, struck my head in falling, and lay stunned
for more than an hour and a half, so far as I could judge.
It was just upon daybreak, when the fresh breeze which blows an
hour before the sun revived me; yet I did not immediately recover
my senses, for I thought my head had been cut off and fancied that
I was in purgatory. With time, little by little, my faculties returned,
and I perceived that I was outside the castle, and in a flash remem-
bered all my adventures. I was aware of the wound in my head
before I knew my leg was broken; for I put my hands up, and with-
drew them covered with blood. Then I searched the spot well, and
judged and ascertained that I had sustained no injury of conse-
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quence there; but when I wanted to stand up, I discovered that my
right leg was broken three inches above the heel. Not even this
dismayed me: I drew forth my poniard with its scabbard; the latter
had a metal point ending in a large ball, which had caused the frac-
ture of my leg; for the bone, coming into violent contact with the
ball, and not being able to bend, had snapped at that point. I threw
the sheath away, and with the poniard cut a piece of the linen which
I had left. Then I bound my leg up as well as I could, and crawled
on all fours with the poniard in my hand toward the city gate.
When I reached it, I found it shut; but I noticed a stone just beneath
the door which did not appear to be very firmly fixed. This I
attempted to dislodge; after setting my hands to it, and feeling it
move, it easily gave way, and I drew it out. Through the gap thus
made I crept into the town.
CX
I HAD CRAWLED more than five hundred paces from the place where
I fell, to the gate by which I entered. No sooner had I got inside
than some mastiff dogs set upon me and bit me badly. When they
returned to the attack and worried me, I drew my poniard and
wounded one of them so sharply that he howled aloud, and all the
dogs, according to their nature, ran after him. I meanwhile made the
best way I could on all fours toward the church of the Trespontina.
On arriving at the opening of the street which leads to Sant*
Agnolo, I turned off in the direction of San Piero; and now the dawn
had risen over me, and I felt myself in danger. When therefore I
chanced to meet a water-carrier driving his donkey laden with full
buckets, I called the fellow, and begged him to carry me upon his
back to the terrace by the steps of San Piero, adding: "I am an
unfortunate young man, who, while escaping from a window in a
love-adventure, have fallen and broken my leg. The place from
which I made my exit is one of great importance; and if I am dis-
covered, I run risk of being cut to pieces; so for heaven's sake lift
me quickly, and I will give you a crown of gold." Saying this, I
clapped my hand to my purse, where I had a good quantity. He took
tne tip at once, hitched me on his back, and carried me to the raised
terrace by the steps to San Piero. There I bade him leave me, saying
he must run back to his donkey.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
I resumed my march, crawling always on all fours, and making for
the palace of the Duchess, wife of Duke Ottavio and daughter of the
Emperor. 261 She was his natural child, and had been married to Duke
Alessandro. I chose her house for refuge, because I was quite certain
that many of my friends, who had come with that great princess
from Florence, were tarrying there; also because she had taken me
into favour through something which the castellan had said in my
behalf. Wishing to be of service to me, he told the Pope that I had
saved the city more than a thousand crowns of damage, caused by
heavy rain on the occasion when the Duchess made her entrance into
Rome. He related how he was in despair, and how I put heart into
him, and went on to describe how I had pointed several large pieces
of artillery in the direction where the clouds were thickest, and
whence a deluge of water was already pouring; then, when I began
to fire, the rain stopped, and at the fourth discharge the sun shone
out; and so I was the sole cause of the festival succeeding, to the joy
of everybody. On hearing this narration the Duchess said: "That
Benvenuto is one of the artists of merit, who enjoyed the good-will
of my late husband, Duke Alessandro, and I shall always hold them
in mind if an opportunity comes of doing such men service." She
also talked of me to Duke Ottavio. For these reasons I meant to go
straight to the house of her Excellency, which was a very fine palace
situated in Borgio Vecchio.
I should have been quite safe from recapture by the Pope if I
could have stayed there; but my exploits up to this point had been
too marvellous for a human being, and God was unwilling to en-
courage my vainglory; accordingly, for my own good, He chastised
me a second time worse even than the first. The cause of this was
that while I was crawling on all fours up those steps, a servant of
Cardinal Cornaro recognised me. His master was then lodging in the
palace; so the servant ran up to his room and woke him, crying:
"Most reverend Monsignor, your friend Benvenuto is down there;
he has escaped from the castle, and is crawling on all fours, streaming
with blood; to all appearances he has broken a leg, and we don't
know whither he is going." The Cardinal exclaimed at once: "Run
and carry him upon your back into my room here." When I arrived,
he told me to be under no apprehension, and sent for the first physi-
cians of Rome to take my case in hand. Among them was Maestro
Jacomo of Perugia, a most excellent and able surgeon. He set the
bone with dexterity, then bound the limb up, and bled me with his
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
own hand. It happened that my veins were swollen far beyond their
usual size, and he too wished to make a pretty wide incision; accord-
ingly the blood sprang forth so copiously, and spurted with such
force into his face, that he had to abandon the operation. He re-
garded this as a very bad omen, and could hardly be prevailed upon
to undertake my cure. Indeed, he often expressed a wish to leave
me, remembering that he ran no little risk of punishment for having
treated my case, or rather for having proceeded to the end with it.
The Cardinal had me placed in a secret chamber, and went off im-
mediately to beg me from the Pope.
CXI
DURING THIS WHILE all Rome was in an uproar; for they had observed
the bands of linen fastened to the great keep of the castle, and folk
were running in crowds to behold so extraordinary a thing. The
castellan had gone off into one of his worst fits of frenzy; in spite
of all his servants, he insisted upon taking his flight also from the
tower, saying that no one could recapture me except himself if he
were to fly after me. Messer Ruberto Pucci, the father of Messer
Pandolf o, 282 having heard of the great event, went in person to in-
spect the place; afterwards he came to the palace, where he met with
Cardinal Cornaro, who told him exactly what had happened, and
how I was lodged in one of his own chambers, and already in the
doctor's hands. These two worthy men went together, and threw
themselves upon their knees before the Pope; but he, before they
could get a word out, cried aloud: "I know all that you want of
me." Messer Ruberto Pucci then began: "Most blessed Father, we
beg you for Heaven's grace to give us up that unfortunate man;
surely his great talents entitle him to exceptional treatment; more-
over, he has displayed such audacity, blent with so much ingenuity,
that his exploit might seem superhuman. We know not for what
crimes your Holiness has kept him so long in prison; however, if
those crimes are too exorbitant, your Holiness is wise and holy, and
may your will be done unquestioned; still, if they are such as can
be condoned, we entreat you to pardon him for our sake." The
Pope, when he heard this, felt shame, and answered: "I have kept
him in prison at the request of some of my people, since he is a little
coo violent in his behaviour; but recognising his talents, and wishing
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to keep him near our person, we had intended to treat him so well
that he should have no reason to return to France. I am very sorry
to hear of his bad accident; tell him to mind his health, and when
he is recovered, we will make it up to him for all his troubles."
Those two excellent men returned and told me the good news
they were bringing from the Pope. Meanwhile the nobility of Rome,
young, old, and all sorts, came to visit me. The castellan, out of his
mind as he was, had himself carried to the Pope; and when he was
in the presence of his Holiness, began to cry out, and to say that if
he did not send me back to prison, he would do him a great wrong.
"He escaped under parole which he gave me; woe is me that he has
flown away when he promised not to fly!'* The Pope said, laughing:
"Go, go; for I will give him back to you without fail." The castellan
then added, speaking to the Pope: "Send the Governor to him to
find out who helped him to escape; for if it is one of my men, I will
hang him from the battlement whence Benvenuto leaped." On his
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departure the Pope called the Governor, and said, smiling: (< That is
a brave fellow, and his exploit is something marvellous; all the same,
when I was a young man, I also descended from the fortress at that
very spot." In so saying the Pope spoke the truth: for he had been
imprisoned in the castle for forging a brief at the time when he was
abbreviator di Parco Majoris.* Pope Alexander kept him confined
for some length of time; and afterwards, his offence being of too ugly
a nature, had resolved on cutting off his head. He postponed the
execution, however, till after Corpus Domini; and Farnese, getting
wind of the Pope's will, summoned Pietro Chiavelluzzi with a lot of
horses, and managed to corrupt some of the castle guards with
money. Accordingly, upon the day of Corpus Domini, while the
Pope was going in procession, Farnese got into a basket and was let
down by a rope to the ground. At that time the outer walls had not
been built around the castle; only the great central tower existed; so
that he had not the same enormous difficulty that I met with in
escaping; moreover, he had been imprisoned justly, and I against all
equity. What he wanted was to brag before the Governor of having
in his youth been spirited and brave; and it did not occur to him
that he was calling attention to his own huge rogueries. He said
then: "Go and tell him to reveal his accomplice without apprehen-
sion to you, be the man who he may be, since I have pardoned him;
and this you may assure him without reservation."
CXII
So THE GOVERNOR came to see me. Two days before he had been made
Bishop of Jesi; 264 and when he entered he said: "Friend Benvenuto,
although my office is wont to frighten men, I come to set your mind
at rest, and to do this I have full authority from his Holiness's own
lips, who told me how he also escaped from Sant' Angelo, but had
many aids and much company, else he would not have been able
to accomplish it. I swear by the sacraments which I carry on my
person (for I was consecrated Bishop two days since) that the Pope
has set you free and pardoned you, and is very sorry for your acci-
dent. Attend to your health, and take all things for the best; for your
imprisonment, which you certainly underwent without a shadow
of guilt, will have been for your perpetual welfare. Henceforward
you will tread down poverty, and will not have to go back to
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France, wearing out your life in this place and in that. Tell me then
frankly how the matter went, and who rendered you assistance;
afterwards take comfort, repose, and recover." I began at die begin-
ning, and related the whole story exactly as it had happened, giving
him the most minute countersigns, down to the water-carrier who
bore me on his back. When the Governor had heard the whole, he
said: "Of a surety these are too great exploits for one man alone; no
one but you could have performed them." So he made me reach my
hand forth, and said: "Be of good courage and comfort your heart,
for by this hand which I am holding you are free, and if you live,
shall live in happiness." While thus conversing with me, he had kept
a whole heap of great lords and noblemen waiting, who were come
to visit me, saying one to the other: "Let us go to see this man who
works miracles." So, when he departed, they stayed by me, and one
made me offers of kindness, and another made me presents.
While I was being entertained in this way, the Governor returned
to the Pope, and reported all that I had said. As chance would have
it, Signer Pier Luigi, the Pope's son, happened to be present, and
all the company gave signs of great astonishment. His Holiness re-
marked: "Of a truth this is a marvellous exploit." Then Pier Luigi
began to speak as follows: "Most blessed Father, if you set that man
free, he will do something still more marvellous, because he has by
far too bold a spirit. I will tell you another story about him which
you do not know. That Benvenuto of yours, before he was impris-
oned, came to words with a gentleman of Cardinal Santa Fiore, 265
about some trifle which the latter had said to him. Now Benvenuto 1 s
retort was so swaggeringly insolent that it amounted to throwing
down a cartel. The gentleman referred the matter to the Cardinal,
who said that if he once laid his hands on Benvenuto he would soon
clear his head of such folly. When the fellow heard this, he got a
little fowling-piece of his ready, with which he is accustomed to
hit a penny in the middle; accordingly, one day when the Cardinal
was looking out of window, Benvenuto's shop being under the palace
of the Cardinal, he took his gun and pointed it upon the Cardinal
The Cardinal, however, had been warned, and presently withdrew.
Benvenuto, in order that his intention might escape notice, aimed at
a pigeon which was brooding high up in a hole of the palace, and
hit it exactly in the head a feat one would have thought incredible.
Now let your Holiness do what you think best about him; I have
discharged my duty by saying what I have. It might even come into
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
his head, imagining that he had been wrongly imprisoned, to fire
upon your Holiness. Indeed he is too truculent, by far too confident
in his own powers. When he killed Pompeo, he gave him two stabs
with a poniard in the throat, in the midst of ten men who were
guarding him; then he escaped, to their great shame, and yet they
were no inconsiderable persons."
CXIII
WHILE THESE WORDS were being spoken, the gentleman of Santa
Fiore with whom I had that quarrel was present, and confirmed to
the Pope what had been spoken by his son. The Pope swelled with
rage, but said nothing. I shall now proceed to give my own version
of the affair, truly and honestly.
This gentleman came to me one day, and showed me a little gold
ring which had been discoloured by quicksilver, saying at the same
time: "Polish up this ring for me, and be quick about it." I was
engaged at the moment upon jewel-work of gold and gems of great
importance: besides, I did not care to be ordered about so haughtily
by a man I had never seen or spoken to; so I replied that I did not
happen to have by me the proper tool for cleaning up his ring, 288
and that he had better go to another goldsmith. Without further
provocation he retorted that I was a donkey; whereupon I said that
he was not speaking the truth; that I was a better man than he in
every respect, but that if he kept on irritating me I would give him
harder kicks than any donkey could. He related the matter to the
Cardinal, and painted me as black as the devil in hell. Two days
afterwards I shot a wild pigeon in a cleft high up behind the palace.
The bird was brooding in that cleft, and I had often seen a gold-
smith named Giovan Francesco della Tacca, from Milan, fire at it;
but he never hit it. On the day when I shot it, the pigeon scarcely
showed its head, being suspicious because it had been so often fired
at. Now this Giovan Francesco and I were rivals in shooting wild-
fowl; and some gentlemen of my acquaintance, who happened to be
at my shop, called my attention, saying: "Up there is Giovan Fran-
cesco della Tacca's pigeon, at which he has so often fired; look now,
die poor creature is so frightened that it hardly ventures to put its
head out." I raised my eyes, and said: "That morsel of its head is
quite enough for me to shoot it by, if it only stays till I can point
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
my gun." The gentlemen protested that even the man who invented
firearms could not hit it. I replied: "I bet a bottle of that excellent
Greek wine Palombo the host keeps, that if it keeps quiet long
enough for me to point my good Broccardo (so I used to call my
gun), I will hit it in that portion of its head which it is showing." So
I aimed my gun, elevating my arms, and using no other rest, and did
what I had promised, without thinking of the Cardinal or any other
person; on the contrary, I held the Cardinal for my very good
patron. Let the world, then, take notice, when Fortune has the will
to ruin a man, how many divers ways she takes! The Pope, swelling
with rage and grumbling, remained revolving what his son had told
iiim.
CXIV
Two DAYS AFTERWARDS the Cardinal Cornaro went to beg a bishopric
from the Pope for a gentleman of his called Messer Andrea Centano.
The Pope, in truth, had promised him a bishopric; and this being
now vacant, the Cardinal reminded him of his word. The Pope
acknowledged his obligation, but said that he too wanted a favour
from his most reverend lordship, which was that he would give up
Benvenuto to him. On this the Cardinal replied: "Oh, if your Holi-
ness has pardoned him and set him free at my disposal, what will the
world say of you and me?" The Pope answered: "I want Benvenuto,
you want the bishopric; let the world say what it chooses." The
good Cardinal entreated his Holiness to give him the bishopric, and
for the rest to think the matter over, and then to act according as
his Holiness decided. The Pope, feeling a certain amount of shame
at so wickedly breaking his word, took what seemed to be a middle
course: "I will send for Benvenuto, and in order to gratify the whim
I have, will put him in those rooms which open on my private
garden; there he can attend to his recovery, and I will not prevent
any of his friends from coming to visit him. Moreover, I will defray
his expenses until this caprice of mine has left me."
The Cardinal came home, and sent the candidate for this bishopric
on the spot to inform me that the Pope was resolved to have me
back, but that he meant to keep me in a ground-floor room in his
private garden, where I could receive the visits of my friends, as I
had done in his own house. I implored this Messer Andrea to ask the
Cardinal not to give me up to the Pope, but to let me act on my
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own account. I would have myself wrapped up in a mattress, and
carried to a safe place outside Rome; for if he gave me up to the
Pope, he would certainly be sending me to death. It is believed that
when the Cardinal heard my petition he was not ill-disposed to grant
it; but Messer Andrea, wanting to secure the bishopric, denounced
me to the Pope, who sent at once and had me lodged in the ground-
floor chamber of his private garden. The Cardinal sent me word not
to eat the food provided for me by the Pope; he would supply me
with provisions; meanwhile I was to keep my spirits up, for he
would work in my cause till I was set free. Matters being thus ar-
ranged, I received daily visits and generous offers from many great
lords and gentlemen. Food came from the Pope, which I refused to
touch, only eating that which came from Cardinal Cornaro; and
thus I remained awhile.
I had among my friends a young Greek of the age of twenty-five
years. He was extremely active in all physical exercises, and the best
swordsman in Rome; rather poor-spirited, however, but loyal to the
backbone; honest, and ready to believe what people told him. He
had heard it said that the Pope made known his intention of com-
pensating me for all I had gone through. It is true that the Pope
began by saying so, but he ended by saying quite the opposite. I
then determined to confide in the young Greek, and said to him:
"Dearest brother, they are plotting my ruin; so now the time has
come to help me. Do they imagine, when they heap those extraordi-
nary favours on me, that I am not aware they are done to betray
me?" The worthy young man answered: "My Benvenuto, they say
in Rome that the Pope has bestowed on you an office with an income
of five hundred crowns; I beseech you therefore not to let those
suspicions deprive you of so great a windfall." All the same I begged
him with clasped hands to aid me in escaping from that place, saying
I knew well that a Pope of that sort, though he could do me much
good if he chose, was really studying secretly, and to save appear-
ances, how he might best destroy me; therefore we must be quick
and try to save me from his clutches. If my friend would get me out
of that place by the means I meant to tell him, I should always
regard him as the saviour of my life, and when occasion came would
ky it down for him with gladness. The poor young man shed tears,
and cried: "Oh, my dear brother, though you are bringing destruc-
tion on your head, I cannot but fulfil your wishes; so explain your
plan, and I will do whatever you may order, albeit much against my
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will." Accordingly we came to an agreement, and I disclosed to him
the details of my scheme, which was certain to have succeeded with-
out difficulty. When I hoped that he was coming to execute it, he
came and told me that for my own good he meant to disobey me,
being convinced of the truth of what he had heard from men close
to the Pope's person, who understood the real state of my affairs.
Having nothing else to rely upon, I remained in despair and misery.
This passed on the day of Corpus Domini 1539.
cxv
AFTER MY CONVERSATION with the Greek, the whole day wore away,
and at night there came abundant provisions from the kitchen of the
Pope; the Cardinal Cornaro also sent good store of viands from his
kitchen; and some friends of mine being present when they arrived,
I made them stay to supper, and enjoyed their society, keeping my
leg in splints beneath the bed-clothes. An hour after nightfall they
left me; and two of my servants, having made me comfortable for
the night, went to sleep in the antechamber. I had a dog, black as a
mulberry, one of those hairy ones, who followed me admirably
when I went out shooting, and never left my side. During the night
he lay beneath my bed, and I had to call out at least three times to
my servant to turn him out, because he howled so fearfully. When
the servants entered, the dog flew at them and tried to bite them.
They were frightened, and thought he must be mad, because he went
on howling. In this way we passed the first four hours of the night.
At the stroke of four the Bargello came into my room with a band
of constables. Then the dog sprang forth and flew at them with such
fury, tearing their capes and hose, that in their fright they fancied
he was mad. But the Bargello, like an experienced person, told them:
"It is the nature of good dogs to divine and foretell the mischance
coming on their masters. Two of you take sticks and beat the dog
off; while the others strap Benvenuto on this chair; then carry him
to the place you wot of." It was, as I have said, the night after
Corpus Domini, and about four o'clock.
The officers carried me, well shut up and covered, and four of
them went in front, making the few passengers who were still abroad
get out of the way. So they bore me to Torre di Nona, such is the
name of the place, and put me in the condemned cell. I was left upon
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
a wretched mattress under the care of a guard, who kept all night
mourning over my bad luck, and saying to me: "Alas! poor Ben*
venuto, what have you done to those great folk?" I could now form
a very good opinion of what was going to happen to me, partly
by the place in which I found myself, and also by what the man
had told me. 267 During a portion of that night I kept racking my
brains what the cause could be why God thought fit to try me so,
and not being able to discover it, I was violently agitated in my soul.
The guard did the best he could to comfort me; but I begged him
for the love of God to stop talking, seeing I should be better able
to compose myself alone in quiet. He promised to do as I asked; and
then I turned my whole heart to God, devoutly entreating Him to
deign to take me into His kingdom. I had, it is true, murmured
against my lot, because it seemed to me that, so far as human laws
go, my departure from the world in this way would be too unjust;
it is true also that I had committed homicides, but His Vicar had
called me from my native city and pardoned me by the authority he
had from Him and from the laws; and what I had done had all been
done in defence of the body which His Majesty had lent me; so I
could not admit that I deserved death according to the dispensation
under which man dwells here; but it seemed that what was happen-
ing to me was the same as what happens to unlucky people in the
street, when a stone falls from some great height upon their heads
and kills them; this we see clearly to be the influence of the stars;
not indeed that the stars conspire to do us good or evil, but the effect
results from their conjunctions, to which we are subordinated. At
the same time I know that I am possessed of free-will, and if I could
exert the faith of a saint, I am sure that the angels of heaven would
bear me from this dungeon and relieve me of all my afflictions; yet
inasmuch as God has not deemed me worthy of such miracles, I con-
clude that those celestial influences must be wreaking their malignity
upon me. In this long struggle of the soul I spent some time; then I
found comfort, and fell presently asleep.
CXVI
WHEN THE DAY DAWNED, the guard woke me up and said: "Oh,
unfortunate but worthy man, you have no more time to go on
sleeping, for one is waiting here to give you evil news." I answered:
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"The sooner I escape from this earthly prison, the happier shall I
be; especially as I am sure my soul is saved, and that I am going to
an undeserved death. Christ, the glorious and divine, elects me to
the company of His disciples and friends, who, like Himself, were
condemned to die unjustly. I too am sentenced to an unjust death,
and I thank God with humility for this sign of grace. Why does not
the man come forward who has to pronounce my doom?" The
guard replied: "He is too grieved for you, and sheds tears." Then
I called him by his name of Messer Benedetto da Cagli, 268 and cried:
"Come forward, Messer Benedetto, my friend, for now, I am re-
solved and in good frame of mind; far greater glory is it for me
to die unjustly than if I had deserved this fate. Come forward, I beg,
and let me have a priest, in order that I may speak a couple of words
with him. I do not indeed stand in need of this, for I have already
made my heart's confession to my Lord God; yet I should like to
observe the ordinances of our Holy Mother Church; for though she
has done me this abominable wrong, I pardon her with all my soul.
So come, friend Messer Benedetto, and despatch my business before
I lose control over my better instincts."
After I had uttered these words, the worthy man told the guard
to lock the door, because nothing could be done without his pres-
ence. He then repaired to the house of Signer Pier Luigi's wife, who
happened to be in company with the Duchess of whom I spoke
above. 269 Presenting himself before them both, he spoke as follows:
"My most illustrious mistress, I entreat you for the love of God to
tell the Pope that he must send some one else to pronounce sentence
upon Benvenuto and perform my office; I renounce the task, and
am quite decided not to carry it through." Then, sighing, he de-
parted with the strongest signs of inward sorrow. The Duchess, who
was present, frowned and said: "So this is the fine justice dealt out
here in Rome by God's Vicar! The Duke, my late husband, particu-
larly esteemed this man for his good qualities and eminent abilities;
he was unwilling to let him return to Rome, and would gladly have
kept him close to his own person." Upon this she retired, muttering
words of indignation and displeasure. Signer Pier Luigi's wife, who
was called Signora Jerolima, betook herself to the Pope, and threw
herself upon her knees before him in the presence of several cardi-
nals. She pleaded my cause so warmly that she woke the Pope to
shame; whereupon he said: "For your sake we will leave him quiet;
yet you must know that we had no ill-will against him." These words
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he spoke because of the cardinals who were around him, and had
listened to the eloquence of that brave-spirited lady.
Meanwhile I abode in extreme discomfort, and my heart kept
thumping against my ribs. Not less was the discomfort of the men
appointed to discharge the evil business of my execution; but when
the hour for dinner was already past, they betook themselves to
their several affairs, and my meal was also served me. This filled me
with a glad astonishment, and I exclaimed: "For once truth has been
stronger than the malice of the stars! I pray God, therefore, that,
if it be His pleasure, He will save me from this fearful peril." Then
I fell to eating with the same stout heart for my salvation as I had
previously prepared for my perdition. I dined well, and afterwards
remained without seeing or hearing any one until an hour after
nightfall. At that time the Bargello arrived with a large part of his
guard, and had me replaced in the chair which brought me on the
previous evening to the prison. He spoke very kindly to me, bidding
me be under no apprehension; and bade his constables take good care
not to strike against my broken leg, but to treat me as though I were
the apple of their eye. The men obeyed, and brought me to the
castle whence I had escaped; then, when we had mounted to the
keep, they left me shut up in a dungeon opening upon a little court
there is there.
CXVII
THE CASTELLAN, meanwhile, ill and afflicted as he was, had himself
transported to my prison, and exclaimed: "You see that I have recap-
tured you!" "Yes," said I, "but you see that I escaped, as I told you
I would And if I had not been sold by a Venetian Cardinal, under
Papal guarantee, for the price of a bishopric, the Pope a Roman and
a Farnese (and both of them have scratched with impious hands the
face of the most sacred laws), you would not have recovered me.
But now that they have opened this vile way of dealing, do you the
worst you can in your turn; I care for nothing in the world." The
wretched man began shouting at the top of his voice: "Ah, woe is
me! woe is me! It is all the same to this fellow whether he lives or
dies, and behold, he is more fiery than when he was in health. Put
him down there below the garden, and do not speak to me of him
again, for he is the destined cause of my death."
So I was taken into a gloomy dungeon below the level of a
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garden, which swam with water, and was full of big spiders and
many venomous worms. They flung me a wretched mattress of
coarse hemp, gave me no supper, and locked four doors upon me.
In that condition I abode until the nineteenth hour of the following
day. Then I received food, and I requested my jailors to give me
some of my books to read. None of them spoke a word, but they
referred my prayer to the unfortunate castellan, who had made
inquiries concerning what I said. Next morning they brought me
an Italian Bible which belonged to me, and a copy of the Chronicles
of Giovanni Villani. 270 When I asked for certain other of my books,
I was told that I could have no more, and that I had got too many
already.
Thus, then, I continued to exist in misery upon that rotten mat-
tress, which in three days soaked up water like a sponge. I could
hardly stir because of my broken leg; and when I had to get out of
bed to obey a call of nature, I crawled on all fours with extreme
distress, in order not to foul the place I slept in. For one hour and
a half each day I got a little glimmering of light, which penetrated
that unhappy cavern through a very narrow aperture. Only for so
short a space of time could I read; the rest of the day and night I
abode in darkness, enduring my lot, nor ever without meditations
upon God and on our human frailty. I thought it certain that a few
more days would put an end to my unlucky life in that sad place and
in that miserable manner. Nevertheless, as well as I was able, I com-
forted my soul by calling to mind how much more painful it would
have been, on passing from this life, to have suffered that unimagi-
nable horror of the hangman's knife. Now, being as I was, I should
depart with the anodyne of sleepiness, which robbed death of half
its former terrors. Little by little I felt my vital forces waning, until
at last my vigorous temperament had become adapted to that purga-
tory. When I felt it quite acclimatised, I resolved to put up with all
those indescribable discomforts so long as it held out.
CXVIII
I BEGAN THE BIBLE from the commencement, reading and reflecting
on it so devoutly, and finding in it such deep treasures of delight,
that, if I had been able, I should have done naught else but study it.
However, light was wanting; and the thought of all my troubles
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kept recurring and gnawing at me in the darkness, until I often made
my mind up to put an end somehow to my own life. They did
not allow me a knife, however, and so it was no easy matter to com-
mit suicide. Once, notwithstanding, I took and propped a wooden
pole I found there, in position like a trap. I meant to make it topple
over on my head, and it would certainly have dashed my brains out;
but when I had arranged the whole machine, and was approaching
to put it in motion, just at the moment of my setting my hand to it,
I was seized by an invisible power and flung four cubits from the
spot, in such a terror that I lay half dead. Like that I remained from
dawn until the nineteenth hour, when they brought my food. The
jailors must have visited my cell several times without my taking
notice of them; for when at last I heard them, Captain Sandrino
Monaldi 271 had entered, and I heard him saying: "Ah, unhappy man!
behold the end to which so rare a genius has come!" Roused by these
words, I opened my eyes, and caught sight of priests with long
gowns on their backs, who were saying: u Oh, you told us he was
dead!" Bozza replied: "Dead I found him, and therefore I told you
so." Then they lifted me from where I lay, and after shaking up
the mattress, which was now as soppy as a dish of maccaroni, they
flung it outside the dungeon. The castellan, when these things were
reported to him, sent me another mattress. Thereafter, when I
searched my memory to find what could have diverted me from that
design of suicide, I came to the conclusion that it must have been
some power divine and my good guardian angel.
CXIX
DURING THE FOLLOWING NIGHT there appeared to me in dreams a
marvellous being in the form of a most lovely youth, who cried, as
though he wanted to reprove me: "Knowest thou who lent thee that
body, which thou wouldst have spoiled before its time?" I seemed
to answer that I recognised all things pertaining to me as gifts from
the God of nature. "So, then," he said, "thou hast contempt for His
handiwork through this thy will to spoil it? Commit thyself unto
His guidance, and lose not hope in His great goodness!" Much more
he added, in words of marvellous efficacy, the thousandth part of
which I cannot now remember.
I began to consider that the angel of my vision spoke the truth.
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So I cast my eyes around the prison, and saw some scraps of rotten
brick, with the fragments of which, rubbing one against the other,
I composed a paste. Then, creeping on all fours, as I was compelled
to go, I crawled up to an angle of my dungeon door, and gnawed a
splinter from it with my teeth. Having achieved this feat, I waited
till the light came on my prison; that was from the hour of twenty
and a half to twenty-one and a half. When it arrived, I began to
write, the best I could, on some blank pages in my Bible, and re-
buked the regents of my intellectual self for being too impatient to
endure this life; they replied to my body with excuses drawn from
all that they had suffered; and the body gave them hope of better
fortune. To this effect, then, by way of dialogue, I wrote as follows:
BENVENUTO IN THE BODY.
Afflicted regents of my soul!
Ah, cruel ye! have ye such hate of life?
THE SPIRITS OF HIS SOUL.
// Heaven against you roll,
Who stands for us? 'who saves us in the strife?
Let us, O let us go toward better life!
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BENVENUTO.
Nay, go not yet awhile!
Ye shall be happier and lighter far
Heaven gives this hope than ye 'were ever yet!
THE SPIRITS.
We 'will remain some little while,
If only by great God you promised are
Such grace that no 'worse woes on us be set.
After this I recovered strength; and when I had heartened up
myself, I continued reading in the Bible, and my eyes became so
used to that darkness that I could now read for three hours instead
of the bare hour and a half I was able to employ before.
With profound astonishment I dwelt upon the force of God's
spirit in those men of great simplicity, w T ho believed so f ervently that
He would bring all their heart's desire to pass. I then proceeded to
reckon in my own case too on God's assistance, both because of His
divine power and mercy, and also because of my own innocence;
and at all hours, sometimes in prayer and sometimes in communion
with God, I abode in those high thoughts of Him. There flowed into
my soul so powerful a delight from these reflections upon God, that
I took no further thought for all the anguish I had suffered, but
rather spent the day in singing psalms and divers other compositions
on the theme of His divinity.
I was greatly troubled, however, by one particular annoyance:
my nails had grown so long that I could not touch my body without
wounding it; I could not dress myself but what they turned inside
or out, to my great torment. Moreover, my teeth began to perish in
my mouth. I became aware of this because the dead teeth being
pushed out by the living ones, my gums were gradually perforated,
and the points of the roots pierced through the tops of their cases.
When I was aware of this, I used to pull one out, as though it were
a weapon from a scabbard, without any pain or loss of blood. Very
many of them did I lose in this way. Nevertheless, I accommodated
myself to these new troubles also; at times I sang, at times I prayed,
and at times I wrote by means of the paste of brick-dust I have
described above. At this time I began composing Capitolo in praise
of my prison, relating in it all the accidents which had befallen me. 272
This poem I mean to insert in its proper place.
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CXX
THE GOOD CASTELLAN used requently to send messengers to find out
secretly what I was doing. So it happened on the last day of July
that I was rejoicing greatly by myself alone while I bethought me
of the festival they keep in Rome upon the ist of August; and I
was saying to myself: "In former years I kept the feast among the
pleasures and the frailties of the world; this year I shall keep it in
communion with God. Oh, how far more happy am I thus than I
was then!" The persons who heard me speak these words reported
them to the castellan. He was greatly annoyed, and exclaimed: "Ah,
God! that fellow lives and triumphs in his infinite distress, while I
lack all things in the midst of comfort, and am dying only on ac-
count of him! Go quickly, and fling him into that deepest of the
subterranean dungeons where the preacher Foiano was starved to
death. 278 Perhaps when he finds himself in such ill plight he will
begin to droop his crest."
Captain Sandrino Monaldi came at once into my prison with about
twenty of the castellan's servants. They found me on my knees; and
I did not turn at their approach, but went on paying my orisons
before a God the Father, surrounded with angels, and a Christ aris-
ing victorious from the grave, which I had sketched upon the wall
with a little piece of charcoal I had found covered up with earth.
This was after I had lain four months upon my back in bed with my
leg broken, and had so often dreamed that angels came and ministered
to me, that at the end of those four months the limb became as sound
as though it never had been fractured. So then these fellows entered,
all in armour, as fearful of me as though I were a poison-breathing
dragon. The captain spoke as follows: "You must be aware that
there are many of us here, and our entrance has made a tumult in
this place, yet you do not turn round." When I heard these words,
I was well able to conceive what greater harm might happen to me;
but being used and hardened to misfortune, I said to them: "Unto
this God who supports me, to Him in heaven I have turned my soul,
my contemplation, and all my vital spirits; to you I have turned
precisely what belongs to you. What there is of good in me, you are
not worthy to behold, nor can you touch it. Do then to that which
is under your control all the evil you are able." The captain, in some
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alarm, and not knowing what I might be on the point of doing, said
to four of his tallest fellows: "Put all your arms aside." When they
had done so, he added: "Now upon the instant leap upon him, and
secure him well. Do you think he is the devil, that so many of us
should be afraid of him? Hold him tight now, that he may not escape
you." Seized by them with force and roughly handled, and antici-
pating something far worse than what afterwards happened, I lifted
my eyes to Christ and said: "O just God, Thou paidest all our debts
upon that high-raised cross of Thine; wherefore then must my inno-
cence be made to pay the debts of whom I do not even know?
Nevertheless, Thy will be done." Meanwhile the men were carrying
me away with a great lighted torch; and I thought that they were
about to throw me down the oubliette of Sammabo. This was the
name given to a fearful place which had swallowed many men alive;
for when they are cast into it, they fall to the bottom of a deep pit
in the foundations of the castle. This did not, however, happen to
me; wherefore I thought that I had made a very good bargain when
they placed me in that hideous dungeon I have spoken of, where
Fra Foiano died of hunger, and left me there without doing me
further injury.
When I was alone, I began to sing a De profundis clamavi, a
Miserere, and In te Domine speravi. During the whole of that first
day of August I kept festival with God, my heart rejoicing ever in
the strength of hope and faith. On the second day they drew me
from that hole, and took me back again to the prison where I had
drawn those representations of God. On arriving there, the sight of
them filled me with such sweetness and such gladness that I wept
abundantly. On every day that followed, the castellan sent to know
what I was doing and saying. The Pope, who had heard the whole
history (and I must add that the doctors had already given the cas-
tellan over), spoke as follows: "Before my castellan dies I will let
him put that Benvenuto to death in any way he likes, for he is the
cause of his death, and so the good man shall not die unrevenged."
On hearing these words from the mouth of Duke Pier Luigi, the
castellan replied: "So, then, the Pope has given me Benvenuto, and
wishes me to take my vengeance on him? Dismiss the matter from
your mind, and leave me to act." If the heart of the Pope was ill-
disposed against me, that of the castellan was now at the commence-
ment savage and cruel in the extreme. At this juncture the invisible
being who had diverted me from my intention of suicide came to
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me, being still invisible, but with a clear voice, and shook me, and
made me rise, and said to me: "Ah me! my Benvenuto, quick, quick,
betake thyself to God with thy accustomed prayers, and cry out
loudly, loudly!" In a sudden consternation I fefi upon my knees, and
recited several of my prayers in a loud voice; after this I said Qui
habitat in adjutorio; then I communed a space with God; and in an
instant the same clear and open voice said to me: "Go to rest, and
have no further fear!" The meaning of this was, that the castellan,
after giving the most cruel orders for my death, suddenly counter-
manded them, and said: "Is not this Benvenuto the man whom I
have so warmly defended, whom I know of a surety to be innocent,
and who has been so greatly wronged? Oh, how will God have
mercy on me and my sins if I do not pardon those who have done
me the greatest injuries? Oh, why should I injure a man both worthy
and innocent, who has only done me services and honour? Go to!
instead of killing him, I give him life and liberty: and in my will I'll
have it written that none shall demand of him the heavy debt for his
expenses here which he would elsewise have to pay." This the Pope
heard, and took it very ill indeed.
CXXI
I MEANWHILE continued to pray as usual, and to write my Capitolo,
and every night I was visited with the gladdest and most pleasant
dreams that could be possibly imagined. It seemed to me while dream-
ing that I was always in the visible company of that being whose
voice and touch, while he was still invisible, I had so often felt. To
him I made but one request, and this I urged most earnestly, namely,
that he would bring me where I could behold the sun. I told him
that this was the sole desire I had, and that if I could but see the
sun once only, I should die contented. All the disagreeable circum-
stances of my prison had become, as it were, to me friendly and
companionable; not one of them gave me annoyance. Nevertheless,
I ought to say that the castellan's parasites, who were waiting for
him to hang me from the battlement whence I made my escape,
when they saw that he had changed his mind to the exact opposite
of what he previously threatened, were unable to endure the disap-
pointment. Accordingly, they kept continually trying to inspire me
with the fear of imminent death by means of various terrifying
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hints. But, as I have already said, I had become so well acquainted
with troubles of this sort that I was incapable of fear, and nothing
any longer could disturb me; only I had that one great longing to
behold die sphere of the sun, if only in a dream.
Thus then, while I spent many hours a day in prayer with deep
emotion of the spirit toward Christ, I used always to say: "Ah, very
Son of God! I pray Thee by Thy birth, by Thy death upon the
cross, and by Thy glorious resurrection, that Thou wilt deign to let
me see the sun, if not otherwise, at least in dreams. But if Thou wilt
grant me to behold it with these mortal eyes of mine, I engage myself
to come and visit Thee at Thy holy sepulchre." This vow and these
my greatest prayers to God I made upon the 2nd of October in the
year 1539. Upon the following morning, which was the 3rd of
October, I woke at daybreak, perhaps an hour before the rising of
the sun. Dragging myself from the miserable lair in which I lay, I
put some clothes on, for it had begun to be cold; then I prayed more
devoutly than ever I had done in the past, fervently imploring
Christ that He would at least grant me the favour of knowing by
divine inspiration what sin I was so sorely expiating; and since His
Divine Majesty had not deemed me worthy of beholding the sun
even in a dream, I besought Him to let me know the cause of my
punishment.
CXXII
I HAD BARELY UTTERED these words, when that invisible being, like
a whirlwind, caught me up and bore me away into a large room,
where he made himself visible to my eyes in human form, appearing
like a young man whose beard is just growing, with a face of in-
describable beauty, but austere, not wanton. He bade me look around
the room, and said: "The crowd of men thou seest in this place are
all those who up to this day have been born and afterwards have
died upon the earth." Thereupon I asked him why he brought me
hither, and he answered: "Come with me and thou shah soon be-
hold." In my hand I had a poniard, and upon my back a coat of
mail; and so he led me through that vast hall, pointing out the people
who were walking by innumerable thousands up and down, this way
and that. He led me onward, and went forth in front of me through
a little low door into a place which looked like a narrow street; and
when he drew me after him into the street, at the moment of leaving
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the hall, behold I was disarmed and clothed in a white shirt, with
nothing on my head, and I was walking on the right hand of my
companion. Finding myself in this condition, I was seized with
wonder, because I did not recognise the street; and when I lifted
my eyes, I discerned that the splendour of the sun was striking on
a wall, as it were a house-front, just above my head. Then I said:
"Oh, my friend; what must I do in order to be able to ascend so
high that I may gaze upon the sphere of the sun himself?" He
pointed out some huge stairs which were on my right hand, and said
to me: "Go up thither by thyself." Quitting his side, I ascended the .
stairs backwards, and gradually began to come within the region of
the -sunlight. Then I hastened my steps, and went on, always walk-
ing backwards as I have described, until I discovered the whole
sphere of the sun. The strength of his rays, as is their wont, first
made me close my eyes; but becoming aware of my misdoing, I
opened them wide, and gazing steadfastly at the sun, exclaimed: "Oh,
my sun, for whom I have so passionately yearned! Albeit your rays
may blind me, I do not wish to look on anything again but this!"
So I stayed awhile with my eyes fixed steadily on him; and after a
brief space I beheld in one moment the whole might of those
great burning rays fling themselves upon the left side of the sun;
so that the orb remained quite clear without its rays, and I was able
to contemplate it with vast delight. It seemed to me something
marvellous that the rays should be removed in that manner. Then
I reflected what divine grace it was which God had granted me that
morning, and cried aloud: "Oh, wonderful Thy power! oh, glorious
Thy virtue! How far greater is the grace which Thou art granting
me than that which I expected!" The sun without his rays appeared
to me to be a bath of the purest molten gold, neither more nor less.
While I stood contemplating this wondrous thing, I noticed that
the middle of the sphere began to swell, and the swollen surface
grew, and suddenly a Christ upon the cross formed itself out of the
same substance as the sun. He bore the aspect of divine benignity,
with such fair grace that the mind of man could not conceive the
thousandth part of it; and while I gazed in ecstasy, I shouted: "A
miracle! a miracle! O God! O clemency Divine! O immeasurable
Goodness! what is it Thou hast deigned this day to show me!" While
I was gazing and exclaiming thus, the Christ moved toward that part
where his rays were settled, and the middle of the sun once more
bulged out as it had done before; the boss expanded, and suddenly
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transformed itself into the shape of a most beautiful Madonna, who
appeared to be sitting enthroned on high, holding her child in her
arms with an attitude of the greatest charm and a smile upon her
face. On each side of her was an angel, whose beauty far surpasses
man's imagination. I also saw within the rondure of the sun, upon
the right hand, a figure robed like a priest; this turned its back to
me, and iept its face directed to die Madonna and the Christ. All
these things I beheld, actual, clear, and vivid, and kept returning
thanks to the glory of God as loud as I was able. The marvellous
apparition remained before me little more than half a quarter of
an hour; then it dissolved, and I was carried back to my dark lair.
I began at once to shout aloud: "The virtue of God hath deigned
to show me all His glory, the which perchance no mortal eye hath
ever seen before. Therefore I know surely that I am free and
fortunate and in the grace of God; but you miscreants shall be
miscreants still, accursed, and in the wrath of God. Mark this, for I
I am certain of it, that on the day of All Saints, the day upon which
I was born in 1500, on the first of November, at four hours after
nightfall, on that day which is coming you will be forced to lead
me from this gloomy dungeon; less than this you will not be able
to do, because I have seen it with these eyes of mine and in that
throne of God. The priest who kept his face turned to God and his
back to me, that priest was S. Peter, pleading my cause, for the
shame he felt that such foul wrongs should be done to Christians
in his own house. You may go and tell it to whom you like; for
none on earth has the power to do me harm henceforward; and
tell that lord who keeps me here, that if he will give me wax or
paper and the means of portraying this glory of God which was
revealed to me, most assuredly shall I convince him of that which
now perhaps he holds in doubt.' 9
CXXIII
THE PHYSICIANS gave the castellan no hope of his recovery, yet he
remained with a clear intellect, and the humours which used to afflict
him every year had passed away. He devoted himself entirely to
the care of his soul, and his conscience seemed to smite him, because
he f dt that 1 had suffered and was suffering a grievous wrong. The
Pope received information from him of the extraordinary things
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which I related; in answer to which his Holiness sent word as
one who had no faith either in God or aught beside that I was mad,
and that he must do his best to mend his health. When the castellan
received this message, he sent to cheer me up, and furnished me with
writing materials and wax, and certain little wooden instruments
employed in working wax, adding many words of courtesy, which
were reported by one of his servants who bore me good-will.
This man was totally the opposite of that rascally gang who had
wished to see me hanged. I took the paper and the wax, and began
to work; and while I was working I wrote the following sonnet
addressed to the castellan:
"7f /, my lord, could show to you the truth,
Of that Eternal Light to me by Heaven
In this low life revealed, you sure had given
More heed to mine than to a monarches sooth.
Ah! could the Pastor of Chrisfs flock in ruth
"Believe how God this soul with sight hath shriven
Of glory unto which no wight hath striven
Ere he escaped earth's cave of care uncouth;
The gates of Justice, holy and austere,
Would roll asunder, and rude impious Rage
Fall chained with shrieks that should assail the skies.
Had 1 but light, ah me! my art should rear
A monument of Heaverfs high equipage!
Nor should my misery bear so grim a guise."
CXXIV
ON THE FOLLOWING DAY, when the servant of the castellan who was
my friend brought me my food, I gave him this sonnet copied out
in writing. Without informing the other ill-disposed servants who
were my enemies, he handed it to the castellan. At that time this
worthy man would gladly have granted me my liberty, because he
fancied that the great wrong done me was a main cause of his death*
He took the sonnet, and having read it more than once, exclaimed:
"These are neither the words nor the thoughts of a madman, but
rather of a sound and worthy fellow." Without delay he ordered
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his secretary to take it to the Pope, and place it in his own hands,
adding a request for my deliverance.
While the secretary was on his way with my sonnet to the Pope,
the castellan sent me lights for day and night, together with all the
conveniences one could wish for in that place. The result of this
was that I began to recover from my physical depression, which had
reached a very serious degree.
The Pope read the sonnet several times. Then he sent word to the
castellan that he meant presently to do what would be pleasing to
him. Certainly the Pope had no unwillingness to release me then; but
Signer Pier Luigi, his son, as it were in the Pope's despite, kept me
there by force.
The death of the castellan was drawing near; and while I was
engaged in drawing and modelling that miracle which I had seen,
upon the morning of All Saints' day he sent his nephew, Piero
Ugolini, to show me certain jewels. No sooner had I set eyes on them
than I exclaimed: "This is the countersign of my deliverance!" Then
the young man, who was not a person of much intelligence, began
to say: "Never think of that, Benvenuto!" I replied: "Take your
gems away, for I am so treated here that I have no light to see by ex-
cept what this murky cavern gives, and that is not enough to test the
quality of precious stones. But, as regards my deliverance from this
dungeon, the day will not end before you come to fetch me out.
It shall and must be so, and you will not be able to prevent it." The
man departed, and had me locked in; but after he had remained away
two hours by the clock, he returned without armed men, bringing
only a couple of lads to assist my movements; so after this fashion
he conducted me to the spacious rooms which I had previously
occupied (that is to say, in 1538), where I obtained all the con-
veniences I asked for.
cxxv
AFTER THE LAPSE of a few days, the castellan, who now believed that
I was at large and free, succumbed to his disease and departed this
.life. In his room remained his brother, Messer Antonio Ugolini, who
had informed the deceased governor that I was duly released. From
what I learned, this Messer Antonio received commission from the
Pope to let me occupy that commodious prison until he had decided
what to do with me.
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Messer Durante of Brescia, whom I have previously mentioned,
engaged the soldier (formerly druggist of Prato) to administer some
deadly liquor in my food; 27 * the poison was to work slowly, pro-
ducing its effect at the end of four or five months. They resolved on
mixing pounded diamond with my victuals. Now the diamond is
not a poison in any true sense of the word, but its incomparable
hardness enables it, unlike ordinary stones, to retain very acute
angles. When every other stone is pounded, that extreme sharp-
ness of edge is lost; their fragments become blunt and rounded. The
diamond alone preserves its trenchant qualities; wherefore, if it
chances to enter the stomach together with food, the peristaltic mo-
tion 275 needful to digestion brings it into contact with the coats of
the stomach and the bowels, where it sticks, and by the action of
fresh food forcing it farther inwards, after some time perforates
the organs. This eventually causes death. Any other sort of stone
or glass mingled with the food has not the power to attach itself,
but passes onward with the victuals. Now Messer Durante entrusted
a diamond of trifling value to one of the guards; and it is said
that a certain Lione, a goldsmith of Arezzo, my great enemy, was
commissioned to pound it. 276 The man happened to be very poor,
and the diamond was worth perhaps some scores of crowns. He
told the guard that the dust he gave him back was the diamond in
question properly ground down. The morning when I took it, they
mixed it with all I had to eat; it was a Friday, and I had it in salad,
sauce, and pottage. That morning I ate heartily, for I had fasted on
the previous evening; and this day was a festival. It is true that I
felt the victuals scrunch beneath my teeth; but I was not thinking
about knaveries of this sort. When I had finished, some scraps of
salad remained upon my plate, and certain very fine and glittering
splinters caught my eye among these remnants. I collected them, and
took them to the window, which let a flood of light into the room;
and while I was examining them, I remembered that the food I ate
that morning had scrunched more than usual. On applying my senses
strictly to the matter, the verdict of my eyesight was that they were
certainly fragments of pounded diamond. Upon this I gave myself
up without doubt as dead, and in my sorrow had recourse with pious
heart to holy prayers. I had resolved the question, and thought that
I was doomed. For the space of a whole hour I prayed fervently
to God, returning thanks to Him for so merciful a death. Since
my stars had sentenced me to die, I thought it no bad bargain to
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escape from life so easily. I was resigned, and blessed the world and
all the years which I had passed in it. Now I was returning to a
better kingdom with the grace of God, the which I thought I had
almost certainly acquired.
While I stood revolving these thoughts in my mind, I held in my
hand some flimsy particles of the reputed diamond, which of a truth
I firmly believed to be such. Now hope is immortal in the human
breast; therefore I felt myself, as it were, lured onward by a gleam
of idle expectation. Accordingly, I took up a little knife and a few
of those particles, and placed them on an iron bar of my prison.
Then I brought the knife's point with a slow strong grinding pres-
sure to bear upon the stone, and felt it crumble. Examining the sub-
stance with my eyes, I saw that it was so. In a moment new hope
took possession of my soul, and I exclaimed: "Here I do not find
my true foe, Messer Durante, but a piece of bad soft stone, which
cannot do me any harm whatever!" Previously I had been resolved
to remain quiet and to die in peace; now I revolved other plans; but
first I rendered thanks to God and blessed poverty; for though
poverty is oftentimes the cause of bringing men to death, on this
occasion it had been the very cause of my salvation. I mean in this
way: Messer Durante, my enemy, or whoever it was, gave a dia-
mond to Lione to pound for me of the worth of more than a hun-
dred crowns; poverty induced him to keep this for himself, and
to pound for me a greenish beryl of the value of two carlins, think-
ing perhaps, because it also was a stone, that it would work the same
effect as die diamond.
CXXVI
Ax THIS TIME the Bishop of Pavia, brother of the Count of San
Secondo, and commonly called Monsignor de' Rossi of Parma, hap-
pened to be imprisoned in the castle for some troublesome affairs
at Pavia. 277 Knowing him to be my friend, I thrust my head out
of the hole in my cell, and called him with a loud voice, crying that
those thieves had given me a pounded diamond with the intention
of killing me. I also sent some of the splinters which I had preserved,
by the hand of one of his servants, for him to see. I did not disclose
my discovery that the stone was not a diamond, but told him that
they had most assuredly poisoned me, after the death of that most
worthy man the castellan. During the short space of time I had to
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live, I begged him to allow me one loaf a day from his own stores,
seeing that I had resolved to eat nothing which came from them.
To this request he answered that he would supply me with victuals.
Messer Antonio, who was certainly not cognisant of the plot
against my life, stirred up a great noise, and demanded to see the
pounded stone, being also persuaded that it was a diamond; but
on reflection that the Pope was probably at the bottom of the affair,
he passed it over lightly after giving his attention to the incident.
Henceforth I ate the victuals sent me by the Bishop, and con-
tinued writing my Capitolo on the prison, into which I inserted
daily all the new events which happened to me, point by point. But
Messer Antonio also sent me food; and he did this by the hand of
that Giovanni of Prato, the druggist, then soldier in the castle
whom I have previously mentioned. He was a deadly foe of mine,
and was the man who had administered the powdered diamond. So
I told him that I would partake of nothing he brought me unless
he tasted it before my eyes. 278 The man replied that Popes have
their meat tasted. I answered: "Noblemen are bound to taste the
meat for Popes; in like measure, you, soldier, druggist, peasant from
Prato, are bound to taste the meat for a Florentine of my station."
He retorted with coarse words, which I was not slow to pay back
in kind.
Now Messer Antonio felt a certain shame for his behaviour; he
had it also in his mind to make me pay the costs which the late
castellan, poor man, remitted in my favour. So he hunted out another
of his servants, who was my friend, and sent me food by this man's
hands. The meat was tasted for me now with good grace, and no
need for altercation. The servant in question told me that the
Pope was being pestered every day by Monsignor di Morluc, who
kept asking for my extradition on the part of the French King. The
Pope, however, showed little disposition to give me up; and Cardinal
Farnese, formerly my friend and patron, had declared that I ought
not to reckon on issuing from that prison for some length of time. 279
I replied that I should get out in spite of them all. The excellent
young fellow besought me to keep quiet, and not to let such words
of mine be heard, for they might do me some grave injury; having
firm confidence in God, it was my duty to await His mercy, re-
maining in the meanwhile tranquil. I answered that the power and
goodness of God are not bound to stand in awe before the malign
forces of iniquity.
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CXXVII
A FEW DAYS had passed when the Cardinal of Ferrara arrived in
Rome. He went to pay his respects to the Pope, and the Pope de-
tained him up to supper-time. Now the Pope was a man of great
talent for affairs, and he wanted to talk at his ease with the Cardinal
about French politics. Everybody knows that folk, when they are
feasting together, say things which they would otherwise retain.
This therefore happened. The great King Francis was most frank
and liberal in all his dealings, and the Cardinal was well acquainted
with his temper. Therefore the latter could indulge the Pope beyond
his boldest expectations. This raised his Holiness to a high pitch of
merriment and gladness, all the more because he was accustomed to
drink freely once a week, and went indeed to vomit after his in-
dulgence. When, therefore, the Cardinal observed that the Pope
was well disposed, and ripe to grant favours, he begged for me at
the King's demand, pressing the matter hotly, and proving that his
Majesty had it much at heart. Upon this the Pope laughed aloud;
he felt the moment for his vomit at hand; the excessive quantity of
wine which he had drunk was also operating; so he said: "On the
spot, this instant, you shall take him to your house." Then, having
given express orders to this purpose, he rose from table. The
Cardinal immediately sent for me, before Signer Pier Luigi could
get wind of the affair; for it was certain that he would not have
allowed me to be loosed from prison.
The Pope's mandatary came together with two great gentlemen
of the Cardinal's, and when four o'clock of the night was passed,
they removed me from my prison, and brought me into the presence
of the Cardinal, who received me with indescribable kindness. I
was well lodged, and left to enjoy the comforts of my situation.
Messer Antonio, the old castellan's brother, and his successor in
the office, insisted on extracting from me the costs for food and
other ,fees and perquisites claimed by sheriffs and such fry, paying
no heed to his predecessor's will in my behalf. This affair cost me
several scores of crowns; but I paid them, because the Cardinal
told me to be well upon my guard if I wanted to preserve my life,
adding that had he not extracted me that evening from the prison, I
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should never have got out Indeed, he had already been informed
that the Pope greatly regretted having let me go.
CXXVIII
I AM NOW OBLIGED to take a step backwards, in order to resume
the thread of some events which will be found in my Capitolo.
While I was sojourning those few days in the chamber of the
Cardinal, and afterwards in the Pope's private garden, there came
among my other friends to visit me a cashier of Messer Bindo
Altoviti, who was called Bernardo Galluzzi. I had entrusted to him
a sum of several hundred crowns, and the young man sought me
out in the Pope's garden, expressing his wish to give back this money
to the uttermost farthing. I answered that I did not know where
to place my property, either with a dearer friend or in a place that
seemed to me more safe. He showed the strongest possible repug-
nance to keeping it, and I was, as it were, obliged to force him.
Now that I had left the castle for the last time, I discovered that
poor Bernardo Galluzzi was ruined, whereby I lost my money.
Now while I was still imprisoned in that dungeon, I had a terrible
dream, in which it seemed to me that words of the greatest conse-
quence were written with a pen upon my forehead; the being who
did this to me repeated at least three times that I should hold my
tongue and not report the words to any one. When I awoke I
felt that my forehead had been meddled with. In my Capitolo upon
the prison I have related many incidents of this sort. Among others,
it was told me (I not knowing what I then prophesied) how every-
thing which afterwards happened to Signor Pier Luigi would take
place, so clearly and so circumstantially that I am under the per-
suasion it was an angel from heaven who informed me. I will not
omit to relate another circumstance also, which is perhaps the most
remarkable which has ever happened to any one. I do so in order
to justify the divinity of God and of His secrets, who deigned to
grant me that great favour; for ever since the time of my strange
vision until now an aureole of glory (marvellous to relate) has
rested on my head. This is visible to every sort of man to whom
I have chosen to point it out; but those have been very few. This
halo can be observed above my shadow in the morning from the
rising of the sun for about two hours, and far better when the
1*37 1
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
grass is drenched with dew. It is also visible at evening about sunset.
I became aware of it in France at Paris; for the air in those parts is
so much freer from mist, that one can see it there far better mani-
fested than in Italy, mists being far more frequent among us. How-
ever, I am always able to see it and to show it to others, but not so
well as in the country I have mentioned.
Now I will set forth the Capitolo I wrote in prison, and in praise
of the said prison; after that I will follow the course of the good
and evil things which have happened to me from time to time; and
I mean also to relate what happens in the future.
THIS CAPITOLO I WROTE TO LUCA MARTINI,
Whoso would know the power of God's dominion,
And how a man resembles that high good,
Must lie in prison, is my firm opinion:
On grievous thoughts and cares of home must brood,
Oppressed with carking pains in flesh and bone,
Far from his native land full many a rood.
If you would fain by worthy deeds be known,
Seek to be prisoned without cause, lie long,
And find no friend to listen to your ?noan.
See that men rob you of your all by wrong;
Add perils to your life; be used with force,
Hopeless of help, by brutal foes and strong.
Be driven at length to some mad desperate course;
Burst from your dungeon, leap the castle wall;
Recaptured, find the prison ten times worse.
Now listen, Luca, to the best of all!
Your leg's been broken; you've been bought and sold;
Your dungeon's dripping; you've no cloak or shawl.
Never one friendly word; your victuals cold
Are brought with sorry news by some base groom
Of Prato soldier now druggist of old.
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Mark 'well how Glory steeps her sons in gloom!
You have no seat to sit on, save the stool:
Yet were you active from your mother's womb.
The knave who serves hath orders strict and cool
To list no word you utter, give you naught,
Scarcely to ope the door; such is their rule.
These toys hath Glory for her nursling wrought!
No paper, pens, ink, fire, or tools of steel,
To exercise the quick brain's teeming thought.
Alack that I so little can reveal!
Fancy one hundred for each separate ill:
Full space and place I've left for prison weal!
But now my former purpose to fulfil,
And sing the dungeorfs praise with honour due
For this angelic tongues were scant of skill.
Here never languish honest men and true,
Except by placemen's fraud, mis government,
Jealousies, anger, or some spiteful crew.
To tell the truth whereon my mind is bent,
Here man knows God, nor ever stints to pray 9
Feeling his soul with hell's fierce anguish rent.
Let one be famed as bad as mortal may,
Send him in jail two sorry years to pine,
He'll come forth holy, wise, beloved alway.
Here soul, flesh, clothes their substance gross refine;
Each bulky lout grows light like gossamer e;
Celestial thrones before purged eyeballs shine.
Vll tell thee a great marvel! Friend, give ear!
The fancy took me on one day to write:
Learn now what shifts one may be put to here.
My cell I search, prick brows and hair upright^
Then turn me toward a cranny in the door*
And with my teeth a splinter disunite;
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Next find a piece of brick upon the floor,
Crumble a part thereof to powder small,
And form a paste by sprinkling water o'er. 2Bi
Then, then came Poesy with fiery call
Into my carcass, by the way methought
Whence bread goes forth there was none else at all.
Now to return unto my primal thought:
Who wills to know what weal awaits him, must
First learn the ill that God for him hath wrought.
The jail contains all arts in act and trust;
Should you but hanker after surgeon's skill ,
'Twill draw the spoiled blood from your veins adust.
Next there is something in itself that will
Make you right eloquent, a bold brave spark,
Big with high-soaring thoughts for good and ill.
Blessed is the man who lies in dungeon dark,
Languishing many a month, then takes his flight
Of war, truce, peace he knows, and tells the mark.
Needs be that all things turn to his delight;
The jail has crammed his brains so full of wit,
They'll dance no morris to upset the wight.
Perchance thou'lt urge: "Think how thy life did flit;
Nor is it true the jail can teach thee lore,
To fill thy breast and heart with strength of it!"
Nay, for myself Pll ever praise it more:
Yet would 1 like one law passed that the man
Whose acts deserve it should not scape this score.
Whoso hath gotten the poor folk in ban,
Td make him learn those lessons of the jail;
For then he'd know all a good ruler can:
He'd act like men who weigh by reason's scale.
Nor dare to swerve from truth and right aside,
Nor would confusion in the realm prevail.
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While I 'was bound in prison to abide.
Poison of priests, friars, soldiers I could see;
But those 'who best deserved it least I spied.
Ah! could you know what rage came over me,
When for such rogues the jail relaxed her hold!
This makes one weep that one was born to be!
Til add no more. Now Tm become fine gold,
Such gold as none flings lightly to the wind,
Fit for the best work eyes shall e'er behold.
Another point hath passed into my mind,
Which Fve not told thee, Luca; where I wrote
Was in the book of one our kith and kind. 262
There down the margins 1 was wont to note
Each torment grim that crushed me like a vice:
The paste my hurrying thoughts could hardly float.
To make an 0, 1 dipped the splinter thrice
In that thick mud; worse woe could scarcely grind
Spirits in hell debarred from Paradise.
Seeing Tm not the first by fraud confined,
This Vll omit; and once more seek the cell
Wherein I rack for rage both heart and mind.
1 praise it more than other tongues will tell;
And, for advice to such as do not know,
Swear that without it none can labour well.
Yet oh! for one like Him I learned but now,
Who'd cry to me as by Bethesda's shore:
Take thy clothes, Benvenuto, rise and go!
Credo Pd sing, Salve reginas pour
And Paternosters; alms Td then bestow
Morn after morn on blind folk, lame, and poor.
Ah me! how many a time my cheek must grow
Blanched by those lilies! Shall I then forswear
Florence and France through them for evermore? 2 **
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If to the hospital 1 come, and fair
Find the Annunziata limned, Fll fly:
Else shall I show myself a brute beast there.
These 'words flout not Her 'worshipped sanctity.
Nor those Her lilies, glorious, holy, pure,
The 'which illumine earth and heaven high!
But for I find at every coign obscure
Ease lilies 'which spread hooks 'where flowers should blow
Needs must 1 -fear lest these to ruin lure.***
To think how many 'walk like me in woe!
Born what, how slaved to serve that hateful sign!
Souls lively y graceful, like to gods below!
I saw that lethal heraldry decline
From heaven like lightning among people vain;
Then on the stone I saw strange lustre shine.
The castle's bell must break ere I with strain
Thence issued; and these things Who speaketh true
In heaven on earth, to me made wondrous plain. 236
Next 1 beheld a bier of sombre hue
Adorned 'with broken lilies; crosses, tears;
And on their beds a lost woe-stricken crew. 287
I saw the Death 'who racks our souls 'with fears;
This man and that she menaced, 'while she cried:
"7 clip the folk 'who harm thee 'with these shears!"
That worthy one then on my brow wrote wide
With Peter's pen words whichfor he bade shun
To speak them thrice within my breast I hide.** 8
Him 1 beheld who drives and checks the sun,
Clad with its splendour 9 ?nid his court on high,
Seld-seen by mortal eyes, if e'er by one. 289
Then did a solitary sparrow cry
Loud from the keep; hearing which note, I said:
"He tells that I shall live and you must
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/ sang, And wrote my hard case, head by head,
Asking from God pardon and aid in need,
For now 1 felt mine eyes outworn and dead.
Ne'er lion, tiger, wolf, or bear knew greed
Hungrier than that man felt for human blood;
Nor viper with more venomous fang did feed. 2 *
The cruel chief was he of robbers' brood,
Worst of the worst among a gang of knaves;
Hist! Pit speak soft lest I be understood!
Say, have ye seen catchpoles, the famished slaves,
In act a poor marts homestead to distrain,
Smashing down Christs, Madonnas, 'with their staves?
So on the first of August did that train
Dislodge me to a tomb more foul, more cold:
"November damns and dooms each rogue to pain!" 21 * 1
I at mine ears a trumpet had 'which told
Truth; and each 'word to them I did repeat,
Reckless, if but griefs load from me were rolled.
They, when they saw their final hope retreat,
Gave me a diamond, pounded, no fair ring,
Deeming that I must die if I should eat.
That villain churl whose office 'twas to bring
My food, I bade taste first; but meanwhile thought:
"Not here I find my foe Dzirante's sting!"
Yet erst my mind unto high God I brought,
Beseeching Him to pardon all my sin,
And spoke a Miserere sorrow-fraught.
Then when I gained some respite from that din
Of troubles, and had given my soul to God,
Contented better realms and state to win,
I saw along the path which saints have trod,
From heaven descending, glad, with glorious palm,
An angel: clear he cried, "Upon earth's sod
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Live longer thou! Through Him 'who heard thy psalm,
Those foes shall perish, each and all, in strife,
While thou remainest happy, free, and calm.
Blessed by our Sire in heaven on earth for lifer 9
t*44J
Book Second
REMAINED for some time in the Cardi-
nal of Ferrara's palace, very well regarded in general by everybody,
and much more visited even than I had previously been. Everybody
was astonished that I should have come out of prison and have been
able to live through such indescribable afflictions; 1 and while I was
recovering my breath and endeavouring to resume the habit of my
art, I had great pleasure in re-writing the Capitolo. Afterwards, with
a view to re-establishing my strength, I determined to take a journey
of a few days for a change of air. My good friend the Cardinal gave
me permission and lent me horses; and I had two young Romans for
my companions, one of them a craftsman in my trade, the other only
a comrade in our journey. We left Rome, and took the road to
Tagliacozzo, intending to visit my pupil Ascanio, who lived there.
On our arrival, I found the lad, together with his father, brothers,
sisters, and step-mother. I was entertained by them two days with
indescribable kindness; then I turned my face towards Rome, taking
Ascanio with me. On the road we fell to conversing about our art,
which made me die of impatience to get back and recommence my
labours.
Having reached Rome, I got myself at once in readiness to work,
and was fortunate enough to find again a silver basin which I had
begun for the Cardinal before I was imprisoned. Together with this
basin I had begun a very beautiful little jug; but this had been stolen,
with a great quantity of other valuable articles. I set Pagolo, whom
I have previously mentioned, to work upon the basin. At the same
time I recommenced the jug, which was designed with round figures
and bas-reliefs. The basin was executed in a similar style, with round
figures and fishes in bas-relief. The whole had such richness and good
keeping, that every one who beheld it expressed astonishment at the
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force of the design and beauty of invention, and also at the delicacy 1
with which these young men worked.
The Cardinal came at least twice a day to see me, bringing with
him Messer Luigi Alamanni and Messer Gabriel Cesano; 8 and here
we used to pass an hour or two pleasantly together. Notwithstanding
I had very much to do, he kept giving me fresh commissions. Among
others, I had to make his pontifical seal, of the size of the hand of a
boy of twelve. On it I engraved in intaglio two little histories, the
one of San Giovanni preaching in the wilderness, the other of Sant'
Ambrogio expelling the Arians* on horseback with a lash in his hand.
The fire and correctness of design of this piece, and its nicety of
workmanship, made every one say that I had surpassed the great
Lautizio, who ranked alone in this branch of the profession. The
Cardinal was so proud of it that he used to compare it complacently
with the other seals of the Roman cardinals, which were nearly all
from the hand of Lautizio.
II
IN ADDITION to these things the Cardinal ordered me to make the
model for a salt-cellar; but he said he should like me to leave the
beaten track pursued by such as fabricated these things. Messer
Luigi, apropos of this salt-cellar, made an eloquent description of his
own idea; Messer Gabriello Cesano also spoke exceedingly well to
the same purpose. The Cardinal, who was a very kindly listener,
showed extreme satisfaction with the designs which these two able
men of letters had described in words. Then he turned to me and
said: "My Benvenuto, the design of Messer Luigi and that of Messer
Gabriello please me both so well that I know not how to choose
between them, therefore I leave the choice to you, who will have
to execute the work." I replied as follows: "It is apparent, my lords,
of what vast consequence are the sons of kings and emperors, and
what a marvellous brightness of divinity appears in them; neverthe-
less, if you ask some poor humble shepherd which he loves best,
those royal children or his sons, he will certainly tell you that he
loves his own sons best. Now I too have a great affection for the
children which I bring forth from my art; consequently the first
which I will show you, most reverend monsignor my good master,
shall be of my own making and invention. There are many things
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beautiful enough in words which do not match together well when
executed by an artist." Then I turned to the two scholars and said:
"You have spoken, I will do." Upon this Messer Luigi Alamanni
smiled, and added a great many witty things, with the greatest charm
of manner, in my praise; they became him well, for he was hand-
some of face and figure, and had a gentle voice. Messer Gabriello
Cesano was quite the opposite, as ugly and displeasing as the other
was agreeable; accordingly he spoke as he looked.
Messer Luigi had suggested that I should fashion a Venus with
Cupid, surrounded by a crowd of pretty emblems, all in proper
keeping with the subject. Messer Gabriello proposed that I should
model an Amphitrite, the wife of Neptune, together with those
Tritons of the sea, and many such-like fancies, good enough to
describe in words, but not to execute in metal.
I first laid down an oval framework, considerably longer than half
a cubit almost two-thirds, in fact; and upon this ground, wishing
to suggest the interminglement of land and ocean, I modelled two
figures, considerably taller than a palm in height, which were seated
with their legs interlaced, suggesting those lengthier branches of the
sea which run up into the continents. The sea was a man, and in his
hand I placed a ship, elaborately wrought in all its details, and well
adapted to hold a quantity of salt. Beneath him I grouped the four
sea-horses, and in his right hand he held his trident. The earth I
fashioned like a woman, with all the beauty of form, the grace, and
charm of which my art was capable. She had a richly decorated
temple firmly based upon the ground at one side; and here her hand
rested. This I intended to receive the pepper. In her other hand I
put a cornucopia, overflowing with all the natural treasures I could
think of. Below this goddess, in the part which represented earth,
I collected the fairest animals that haunt our globe. In the quarter
presided over by the deity of ocean, I fashioned such choice kinds
of fishes and shells as could be properly displayed in that small space.
What remained of the oval I filled in with luxuriant ornamentation.
Then I waited for the Cardinal; and when he came, attended by
the two accomplished gentlemen, I produced the model I had made
in wax. On beholding it, Messer Gabriel Cesano was the first to lift
his voice up, and to cry: "This is a piece which it will take the lives
of ten men to finish: do not expect, most reverend monsignor, if
you order it, to get it in your lifetime. Benvenuto, it seems, has
chosen to display his children in a vision, but not to give them to
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the touch, as we did when we spoke of things that could be carried
out, while he has shown a thing beyond the bounds of possibility."
Messer Alamanni took my side; but the Cardinal said he did not care
to undertake so important an affair. Then I turned to them and said:
"Most reverend monsignor, and you, gentlemen, fulfilled with learn-
ing; I tell you that I hope to complete this piece for whosoever shall
be destined to possess it; 5 and each one of you shall live to see it
executed a hundred times more richly than the model. Indeed, I
hope that time will be left me to produce far greater things than
this." The Cardinal replied in heat: "Unless you make it for the
King, to whom I mean to take you, I do not think that you will
make it for another man alive." Then he showed me letters which
the King, under one heading, bade him return as soon as possible,
bringing Benvenuto with him. At this I raised my hands to heaven,
exclaiming: "Oh, when will that moment come, and quickly?" The
Cardinal bade me put myself in readiness, and arrange the affairs I
had in Rome. He gave me ten days for these preparations.
Ill
WHEN THE TIME CAME to travel, he gave me a fine and excellent
horse. The animal was called Tornon, because it was a gift from the
Cardinal Tornon. My apprentices, Pagolo and Ascanio, were also
furnished with good mounts.
The Cardinal divided his household, which was very numerous,
into two sections. The first, and the more distinguished, he took with
him, following the route of Romagna, with the object of visiting
Madonna del Loreto, and then making for Ferrara, his own home.
The other section he sent upon the road to Florence. This was the
larger train; it counted a great multitude, including the flower of his
horse. He told me that if I wished to make the journey without peril,
I had better go with him, otherwise I ran some risk of my life. I
expressed my inclination to his most reverend lordship to travel in
his suite. But, having done so, since the will of Heaven must be
accomplished, it pleased God to remind me of my poor sister, who
had suffered greatly from the news of my misfortunes. I also remem-
bered my cousins, who were nuns in Viterbo, the one abbess and the
other camerlinga, 7 and who had therefore that rich convent under
their control They too had endured sore tribulation for my sake,
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
and to their fervent prayers I firmly believed that I owed the grace
of my deliverance by God. Accordingly, when these things came
into my mind, I decided for the route to Florence. I might have
travelled free of expense with the Cardinal or with that other train
of his, but I chose to take my own way by myself. Eventually I
joined company with a very famous clockmaker, called Maestro
Cherubino, my esteemed friend. Thrown together by accident, we
performed the journey with much enjoyment on both sides.
I had left Rome on Monday in Passion Week, together with
Pagolo and Ascanio. 8 At Monte Ruosi we joined the company which
I have mentioned. Since I had expressed my intention of following
the Cardinal, I did not anticipate that any of my enemies would be
upon the watch to harm me. Yet I ran a narrow risk of coming to
grief at Monte Ruosi; for a band of men had been sent forward,
well armed, to do me mischief there. It was so ordained by God
that, while we were at dinner, these fellows, on the news that I was
not travelling in the Cardinal's suite, made preparation to attack me
Just at that moment the Cardinal's retinue arrived, and I was glad
enough to travel with their escort safely to Viterbo. From that place
onward I had no apprehension of danger, especially as I made a point
of travelling a few miles in front, and the best men of the retinue
kept a good watch over me. 9 1 arrived by God's grace safe and sound
at Viterbo, where my cousins and all the convent received me with
the greatest kindness.
IV
AFTER LEAVING VITERBO with the comrades I have mentioned, we
pursued our journey on horseback, sometimes in front and some-
times behind the Cardinal's household. This brought us upon Maundy
Thursday at twenty-two o'clock within one stage of Siena. At this
place there happened to be some return-horses; and the people of
the post were waiting for an opportunity to hire them at a small fee
to any traveller who would take them back to the post-station in
Siena. When I was aware of this, I dismounted from my horse
Tornon, saddled one of the beasts with my pad and stirrups, and
gave a giulio to the groom in waiting. 10
I left my horse under the care of my young men to bring after
me, and rode on in front, wishing to arrive half-an-hour earlier in
Siena, where I had some friends to visit and some business to transact.
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Although I went at a smart pace, I did not override the post-horse.
When I reached Siena, I engaged good rooms at the inn for five
persons, and told the groom of the house to take the horse back to
the post, which was outside the Camollia gate; I forgot, however,
to remove my stirrups and my pad.
That evening of Holy Thursday we passed together with much
gaiety; and next morning, which was Good Friday, I remembered
my stirrups and my pad. On my sending for them, the postmaster
replied that he did not mean to give them up, because I had over-
ridden his horse. We exchanged messages several times, and he kept
saying that he meant to keep them, adding expressions of intolerable
insult. The host where I was lodging told me: "You will get off
well if he does nothing worse than to detain your gear; for you must
know that he is the most brutal fellow that ever disgraced our city,
and has two sons, soldiers of great courage, who are even more brutal
than he is. I advise you then to purchase what you want, and to
pursue your journey without moving farther in this matter."
I bought a new pair of stirrups, although I still hoped to regain
my good pad by persuasion; and since I was very well mounted, and
well armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, and carried an excellent
arquebuse upon my saddle-bow, I was not afraid of the brutality and
violence which that mad beast was said to be possessed of. I had also
accustomed my young men to carry shirts of mail, and had great
confidence in the Roman, who, while we were in Rome together,
had never left it off, so far as I could see; Ascanio too, although he
was but a stripling, was in the habit of wearing one. Besides, as it
was Good Friday, I imagined that the madnesses of madmen might
be giving themselves a holiday. When we came to the Camollia
gate, I at once recognised the postmaster by the indications given
me; for he war blind of the left eye. Riding up to him then, and
leaving my young laen and companions at a little distance, I courte-
ously addressed him: "Master of the post, if I assure you that I did
not override your horse, why are you unwilling to give me back my
pad and stirrups?" The reply he made was precisely as mad and
brutal as had been foretold me. This roused me to exclaim: "How
then! are you not a Christian? or do you want upon Good Friday
to force us both into a scandal?" He answered that Good Friday
or the Devil's Friday was all the same to him, and that if I did not
take myself away, he would fell me to the ground with a spontoon
which he had taken up me and the arquebuse I had my hand on*
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Upon hearing these truculent words, an old gentleman of Siena
joined us; he was dressed like a citizen, and was returning from the
religious functions proper to that day. It seems that he had gathered
the sense of my arguments before he came up to where we stood;
and this impelled him to rebuke the postmaster with warmth, taking
my side, and reprimanding the man's two sons for not doing their
duty to passing strangers; so that their manners were an offence to
God and a disgrace to the city of Siena. The two young fellows
wagged their heads without saying a word, and withdrew inside the
house. Their father, stung to fury by the scolding of that respectable
gentleman, poured out a volley of abusive blasphemies, and levelled
his spontoon, swearing he would murder me. When I saw him deter-
mined to do some act of bestial violence, I pointed the muzzle of
my arquebuse, with the object only of keeping him at a distance.
Doubly enraged by this, he flung himself upon me. Though I had
prepared the arquebuse for my defence, I had not yet levelled it
exactly at him; indeed it was pointed too high. It went off of itself;
and the ball, striking the arch of the door and glancing backwards,
wounded him in the throat, so that he fell dead to earth. Upon this
the two young men came running out; one caught up a partisan
from the rack which stood there, the other seized the spontoon of
his father. Springing upon my followers, the one who had the spon-
toon smote Pagolo the Roman first above the left nipple. The other
attacked a Milanese who was in our company, and had the ways and
manners of a perfect fool. This man screamed out that he had noth-
ing in the world to do with me, and parried the point of the partisan
with a little stick he held; but this availed him naught: in spite of his
words and fencing, he received a flesh wound in the mouth. Messer
Cherubino wore the habit of a priest; for though he was a clock-
maker by trade, he held benefices of some value from the Pope.
Ascanio, who was well armed, stood his ground without trying to
escape, as the Milanese had done; so these two came off unhurt. I
had set spurs to my horse, and while he was galloping, had charged
and got my arquebuse in readiness again; but now I turned back,
burning with fury, and meaning to play my part this time in earnest.
I thought that my young men had been killed, and was resolved to
die with them. The horse had not gone many paces when I met them
riding toward me, and asked if they were hurt. Ascanio answered
that Pagolo was wounded to the death. Then I said: "O Pagolo, my
son, did the spontoon then pierce through your armour?" "No," he
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
replied, "for I put my shirt of mail in the valise this morning." "So
then, I suppose, one wears chain-mail in Rome to swagger before
ladies, but where there is danger, and one wants it, one keeps it
locked up in a portmanteau? You deserve what you have got, and
you are now the cause of sending me back to die here too." While
I was uttering these words, I kept riding briskly onward; but both
the young men implored me for the love of God to save myself and
them, and not to rush on certain death. Just then I met Messer
Cherubino and the wounded Milanese. The former cried out that no
one was badly wounded; the blow given to Pagolo had only grazed
the skin; 11 but the old postmaster was stretched out dead; his sons
with other folk were getting ready for attack, and we must almost
certainly be cut to pieces: "Accordingly, Benvenuto, since fortune
has saved us from this first tempest, do not tempt her again, for
things may not go so favourably a second time." To this I replied:
"If you are satisfied to have it thus, so also am I"; and turning to
Pagolo and Ascanio, I said: "Strike spurs to your horses, and let us
gallop to Staggia without stopping; 12 there we shall be in safety."
The wounded Milanese groaned out: "A pox upon our peccadilloes!
the sole cause of my misfortune was that I sinned by taking a little
broth this morning, having nothing else to break my fast with." In
spite of the great peril we were in, we could not help laughing a little
at the donkey and his silly speeches. Then we set spurs to our horses,
and left Messer Cherubino and the Milanese to follow at their leisure.
V
WHILE WE WERE making our escape, the sons of the dead man ran
to the Duke of Melfi, and begged for some light horsemen to catch
us up and take us prisoners. 18 The Duke, upon being informed that
we were the Cardinal of Ferrara's men, refused to give them troops
or leave to follow. We meanwhile arrived at Staggia, where we were
in safety. There we sent for a doctor, the best who could be had
in such a place; and on his examining Pagolo, we discovered that the
wound was only skin-deep; so I felt sure 14 that he would escape
without mischief. Then we ordered dinner; and at this juncture there
arrived Messer Cherubino and that Milanese simpleton, who kept
always muttering: "A plague upon your quarrels," and complaining
that he was excommunicated because he had not been able to say
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
a single Paternoster on that holy morning. He was very ugly, and
his mouth, which nature had made large, had been expanded at least
three inches by his wound; so that what with his ludicrous Milanese
jargon and his silly way of talking, he gave us so much matter for
mirth, that, instead of bemoaning our ill-luck, we could not hold
from laughing at every word he uttered. When the doctor wanted
to sew up his wound, and had already made three stitches with his
needle, the fellow told him to hold hard awhile, since he did not
want him out of malice to sew his whole mouth up. Then he took up
a spoon, and said he wished to have his mouth left open enough to
take that spoon in, in order that he might return alive to his own
folk. These things he said with such odd waggings of the head, that
we never stopped from laughing, and so pursued our journey mirth-
fully to Florence.
We dismounted at the house of my poor sister, who, together with
her husband, overwhelmed us with kind attentions. Messer Cheru-
bino and the Milanese went about their business. In Florence we
remained four days, during which Pagolo got well. It was lucky for
us that whenever we talked about that Milanese donkey, we laughed
as much as our misfortunes made us weep, so that we kept laughing
and crying both at the same moment.
Pagolo recovered, as I have said, with ease; and then we travelled
toward Ferrara, where we found our lord the Cardinal had not yet
arrived. He had already heard of all our accidents, and said, when
he expressed his concern for them: "I pray to God that I may be
allowed to bring you alive to the King, according to my promise."
In Ferrara he sent me to reside at a palace of his, a very handsome
place called Belfiore, close under the city walls. There he provided
me with all things necessary for my work. A little later, he arranged
to leave for France without me; and observing that I was very ill
pleased with this, he said to me: "Benvenuto, I am acting for your
welfare; before I take you out of Italy, I want you to know exactly
what you will have to do when you come to France. Meanwhile,
push on my basin and the jug with all the speed you can. I shall leave
orders with my factor to give you everything that you may want."
He then departed, and I remained sorely dissatisfied, and more
than once I was upon the point of taking myself off without license.
The only thing which kept me back was that he had procured my
freedom from Pope Paolo; for the rest, I was ill-contented and put
to considerable losses. However, I clothed my mind with the grsti-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
tude due to that great benefit, and disposed myself to be patient and
to await the termination of the business. So I set myself to work
with my two men, and made great progress with the jug and basin.
The air was unwholesome where we lodged, and toward summer
we all of us suffered somewhat in our health. During our indisposi-
tion we went about inspecting the domain; it was very large, and left
in a wild state for about a mile of open ground, haunted too by multi-
tudes of peacocks, which bred and nested there like wild-fowl. This
put it into my head to charge my gun with a noiseless kind of
powder; then I tracked some of the young birds, and every other
day killed one, which furnished us with abundance of meat, of such
excellent quality that we shook our sickness off. For several months
following we went on working merrily, and got the jug and basin
forward; but it was a task that required much time.
VI
AT THAT PERIOD the Duke of Ferrara came to terms with Pope Paul
about some old matters in dispute between them relating to Modena
and certain other cities. The Church having a strong claim to them,
the Duke was forced to purchase peace by paying down an enor-
mous sum of money; I think that it exceeded three hundred thousand
ducats of the Camera. There was an old treasurer in the service of
the Duke, who had been brought up by his father, Duke Alfonso,
and was called Messer Girolamo Giliolo. He could not endure to see
so much money going to the Pope, and went about the streets cry-
ing: "Duke Alfonso, his father, would sooner have attacked and
taken Rome with this money than have shown it to the Pope."
Nothing would induce him to disburse it; at last, however, the Duke
compelled him to make the payments, which caused the old man
such anguish that he sickened of a dangerous colic and was brought
to death's door. During this man's illness the Duke sent for me, and
bade me take his portrait; that I did upon a circular piece of black
stone about the size of a little trencher. The Duke took so much
pleasure in my work and conversation, that he not unfrequently
posed through four or five hours at a stretch for his own portrait,
and sometimes invited me to supper. It took me eight days to com-
plete his likeness; then he ordered me to design the reverse. On it
I modelled Peace, giving her the form of a woman with a torch in
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
her hand, setting fire to a trophy of arms; I portrayed her in an atti-
tude of gladness, with very thin drapery, and below her feet lay
Fury in despair, downcast and sad, and loaded with chains. I devoted
much study and attention to this work, and it won me the greatest
honour. The Duke was never tired of expressing his satisfaction, and
gave me inscriptions for both sides of the medal. That on the reverse
ran as follows: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini; it meant that his peace
with the Pope had been dearly bought.
VII
WHILE i WAS still engaged upon the reverse of this medal, the
Cardinal sent me letters bidding me prepare for my journey, since
the King had asked after me. His next communication would con-
tain full details respecting all that he had promised. Accordingly, I
had my jug and basin packed up, after showing them to the Duke.
Now a Ferrarese gentleman named Alberto Bendedio was the Cardi-
nal's agent, and he had been twelve years confined to his house,
without once leaving it, by reason of some physical infirmity. One
day he sent in a vast hurry for me, saying I must take the post at
once, in order to present myself before the King of France, who
had eagerly been asking for me, under the impression that I was in
France. By way of apology, the Cardinal told him that I was staying,
slightly indisposed, in his abbey at Lyons, but that he would have
me brought immediately to his Majesty. Therefore I must lose no
time, but travel with the post.
Now Messer Alberto was a man of sterling worth, but proud, and
illness had made his haughty temper insupportable. As I have just
said, he bade me to get ready on the spot and take the journey by
the common post. I said that it was not the custom to pursue my pro-
fession in the post, and that if I had to go, it was my intention
to make easy stages and to take with me the workmen Ascanio and
Pagolo, whom I had brought from Rome. Moreover, I wanted a
servant on horseback to be at my orders, and money sufficient for
my costs upon the way. The infirm old man replied, upon a tone
of mighty haughtiness, that the sons of dukes were wont to travel
as I had described, and in no other fashion. I retorted that the sons
of my art travelled in the way I had informed him, and that not
being a duke's son, I knew nothing about the customs of such folk;
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if he treated me to language with which my ears were unfamiliar,
I would not go at all; the Cardinal having broken faith with me, and
such scurvy words having been spoken, I should make my mind up
once for all to take no further trouble with the Ferrarese. Then I
turned my back, and, he threatening, I grumbling, took my leave.
I next went to the Duke with my medal, which was finished. He
received me with the highest marks of honour and esteem. It seems
that he had given orders to Messer Girolamo Giliolo to reward me
for my labour with a diamond ring worth two hundred crowns,
which was to be presented by Fiaschino, his chamberlain. Accord-
ingly, this fellow, on the evening after I had brought the medal, at
one hour past nightfall, handed me a ring with a diamond of showy
appearance, and spoke as follows on the part of his master: "Take
this diamond as a remembrance of his Excellency, to adorn the
unique artist's hand which has produced a masterpiece of so singular
merit." When day broke, I examined the ring, and found the stone
to be a miserable thin diamond, worth about ten crowns. I felt sure
that the Duke had not meant to accompany such magnificent com-
pliments with so trifling a gift, but that he must have intended to
reward me handsomely. Being then convinced that the trick pro-
ceeded from his rogue of a treasurer, I gave the ring to a friend of
mine, begging him to return it to the chamberlain, Fiaschino, as he
best could. The man I chose was Bernardo Saliti, who executed his
commission admirably. Fiaschino came at once to see me, and de-
clared, with vehement expostulations, that the Duke would take it
very ill if I refused a present he had meant so kindly; perhaps I
should have to repent of my waywardness. I answered that the ring
his Excellency had given me was worth about ten crowns, and that
the work I had done for him was worth more than two hundred.
Wishing, however, to show his Excellency how highly I esteemed
his courtesy, I should be happy if he bestowed on me only one of
those rings for the cramp, which come from England and are worth
tenpence. 16 1 would treasure that so long as I lived in remembrance
of his Excellency, together with the honourable message he had sent
me; for I considered that the splendid favours of his Excellency had
amply recompensed my pains, whereas that paltry stone insulted
diem. This speech annoyed the Duke so much that he sent for his
treasurer, and scolded him more sharply than he had ever done
before. At die same time he gave me orders, under pain of his dis-
pleasure, not to leave Ferrara without duly informing him; and com-
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
manded the treasurer to present me with a diamond up to three
hundred crowns in value. The miserly official found a stone rising
a trifle above sixty crowns, and let it be heard that it was worth
upwards of two hundred.
VIII
MEANWHILE Messer Alberto returned to reason, and provided me
with all I had demanded. My mind was made up to quit Ferrara
without fail that very day; but the Duke's attentive chamberlain
arranged with Messer Alberto that I should get no horses then. I had
loaded a mule with my baggage, including the case which held the
Cardinal's jug and basin. Just then a Ferrarese nobleman named
Messer Alfonso de' Trotti arrived. 16 He was far advanced in years,
and a person of excessive affectation; a great dilettante of the arts,
but one of those men who are very difficult to satisfy, and who, if
they chance to stumble on something which suits their taste, exalt
it so in their own fancy that they never expect to see the like of it
again. Well, this Messer Alfonso arrived, and Messer Alberto said
to him: "I am sorry that you are come so late; the jug and basin we
are sending to the Cardinal in France have been already packed."
He answered that it did not signify to him; and beckoning to his
servant, sent him home to fetch a jug in white Faenzo clay, the work-
manship of which was very exquisite. During the time the servant
took to go and return, Messer Alfonso said to Messer Alberto: "I
will tell you why I do not care any longer to look at vases; it is that
I once beheld a piece of silver, antique, of such beauty and such
finish that the human imagination cannot possibly conceive its rarity.
Therefore I would rather not inspect any objects of the kind, for
fear of spoiling the unique impression I retain of that. I must tell you
that a gentleman of great quality and accomplishments, who went
to Rome upon matters of business, had this antique vase shown to
him in secret. By adroitly using a large sum of money, he bribed the
person in whose hands it was, and brought it with him to these
parts; but he keeps it jealously from all eyes, in order that the Duke
may not get wind of it, fearing he should in some way be deprived
of his treasure." While spinning out this lengthy yarn, Messer Al-
fonso did not look at me, because we were not previously ac-
quainted. But when that precious clay model appeared, he displayed
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
it with such airs of ostentation, pomp, and mountebank ceremony,
that, after inspecting it, I turned to Messer Alberto and said: "I am
indeed lucky to have had the privilege to see it!" 17 Messer Alfonso,
quite affronted, let some contemptuous words escape him, and ex-
claimed: "Who are you, then, you who do not know what you are
saying?" I replied: "Listen for a moment, and afterwards judge
which of us knows best what he is saying." Then turning to Messer
Alberto, who was a man of great gravity and talent, I began: "This
is a copy from a little silver goblet, of such and such a weight, which
I made at such and such a time for the charlatan Maestro Jacopo,
the surgeon from Carpi. He came to Rome and spent six months
there, during which he bedaubed some scores of noblemen and un-
fortunate gentlefolk with his dirty salves, extracting many thousands
of ducats from their pockets. At that time I made for him this vase
and one of a different pattern. He paid me very badly; and at the
present moment in Rome all the miserable people who used his oint-
ment are crippled and in a deplorable state of health. 18 It is indeed
great glory for me that my works are held in such repute among
you wealthy lords; but I can assure you that during these many
years past I have been progressing in my art with all my might, and
I think that the vase I am taking with me into France is far more
worthy of cardinals and kings than that piece belonging to your little
quack doctor."
After I had made this speech, Messer Alfonso seemed dying with
desire to see the jug and basin, but I refused to open the box. We
remained some while disputing the matter, when he said that he
would go to the Duke and get an order from his Excellency to have
it shown him. Then Messer Alberto Bendedio, in the high and
mighty manner which belonged to him, exclaimed: "Before you
leave this room, Messer Alfonso, you shall see it, without employing
the Duke's influence." On hearing these words I took my leave, and
left Ascanio and Pagolo to show it. They told me afterwards that
he had spoken enthusiastically in my praise. After this he wanted
to become better acquainted with me; but I was wearying to leave
Fcrrara and get away from all its folk. The only advantages I had
enjoyed there were die society of Cardinal Salviati and the Cardinal
of Ravenna, and the friendship of some ingenious musicians; 19 no
one else had been to me of any good; for the Ferrarese are a very
avaricious people, greedy of their neighbours* money, however they
may lay their hands on it; they are all the same in this respect.
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At the hour of twenty-two Fiaschino arrived, and gave me the
diamond of sixty crowns, of which I spoke above. He told me, with
a hang-dog look and a few brief words, that I might wear it for his
Excellency's sake. I replied: "I will do so." Then putting my foot
in the stirrup in his presence, I set off upon my travels without
further leave-taking. The man noted down my act and words, and
reported them to the Duke, who was highly incensed, and showed
a strong inclination to make me retrace my steps.
IX
THAT EVENING I rode more than ten miles, always at a trot; and
when, upon the next day, I found myself outside the Ferrarese do-
main, I felt excessively relieved; indeed I had met with nothing to
my liking there, except those peacocks which restored my health.
We journeyed by the Monsanese, avoiding the city of Milan on
account of the apprehension I have spoken of; 20 so that we arrived
safe and sound at Lyons. Counting Pagolo and Ascanio and a servant,
we were four men, with four very good horses. At Lyons we waited
several days for the muleteer, who carried the silver cup and basin,
as well as our other baggage; our lodging was in an abbey of the
Cardinal's. When the muleteer arrived, M*e loaded all our goods upon
a little cart, and then set off toward Paris. On the road we met with
some annoyances, but not of any great moment.
We found the Court of the King at Fontana Belio; 21 there we
presented ourselves to the Cardinal, who provided us at once with
lodgings, and that evening we were comfortable. On the following
day the cart turned up; so we unpacked our things, and when the
Cardinal heard this he told the King, who expressed a wish to see
me at once. I went to his Majesty with the cup and basin; then, upon
entering his presence, I kissed his knee, and he received me very
graciously. I thanked his Majesty for freeing me from prison, saying
that all princes unique for generosity upon this earth, as was his
Majesty, lay under special obligations to set free men of talent, and
particularly those that were innocent, as I was; such benefits, I added,
were inscribed upon the book of God before any other good actions.
The King, while I was delivering this speech, continued listening
till the end with the utmost courtesy, dropping a few words such as
only he could utter. Then he took the vase and basin, and exclaimed:
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"Of a truth I hardly think the ancients can have seen a piece so beau-
tiful as this, I well remember to have inspected all the best works,
and by the greatest masters of all Italy, but I never set my eyes on
anything which stirred me to such admiration." These words the
King addressed in French to the Cardinal of Ferrara, with many
others of even warmer praise. Then he turned to me and said in
Italian: "Benvenuto, amuse yourself for a few days, make good
cheer, and spend your time in pleasure; in the meanwhile we will
think of giving you the wherewithal to execute some fine works of
art for us."
X
THE CARDINAL OF FERRARA saw that the King had been vastly pleased
by my arrival; he also judged that the trifles which I showed him
of my handicraft had encouraged him to hope for the execution of
some considerable things he had in mind. At this time, however, we
were following the court with the weariest trouble and fatigue; the
reason of this was that the train of the King drags itself along with
never less than 1 2,000 horse behind it; this calculation is the very
lowest; for when the court is complete in times of peace, there are
some 18,000, which makes 12,000 less than the average. Consequently
we had to journey after it through places where sometimes there
were scarcely two houses to be found; and then we set up canvas
tents like gipsies, and suffered at times very great discomfort. I
therefore kept urging the Cardinal to put the King in mind of em-
ploying me in some locality where I could stop and work. The
Cardinal answered that it was far better to wait until the King
should think of it himself, and that I ought to show myself at times
to his Majesty while he was at table. This I did then; and one morn-
ing, at his dinner, the King called me. He began to talk to me in
Italian, saying he had it in his mind to execute several great works,
and that he would soon give orders where I was to labour, and pro-
vide me with all necessaries. These communications he mingled with
discourse on divers pleasant matters. The Cardinal of Ferrara was
there, because he almost always ate in the morning at the King's
table. He had heard our conversation, and when the King rose, he
spoke in my favour to this purport, as I afterwards was informed:
"Sacred Majesty, this man Benvenuto is very eager to get to work
again; it seems almost a sin to let an artist of his abilities waste his
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time." The King replied that he had spoken well, and told him to
arrange with me all things for my support according to my wishes.
Upon the evening of the day when he received this commission,
the Cardinal sent for me after supper, and told me that his Majesty
was resolved to let me begin working, but that he wanted me first
to come to an understanding about my appointments. To this the
Cardinal added: "It seems to me that if his Majesty allows you three
hundred crowns a year, you will be able to keep yourself very well
indeed; furthermore, I advise you to leave yourself in my hands, for
every day offers the opportunity of doing some service in this great
kingdom, and I shall exert myself with vigour in your interest."
Then I began to speak as follows: "When your most reverend lord-
ship left me in Ferrara, you gave me a promise, which I had never
asked for, not to bring me out of Italy before I clearly understood
the terms on which I should be placed here with his Majesty. Instead
of sending to communicate these details, your most reverend lord-
ship urgently ordered me to come by the post, as if an art like mine
was carried on post-haste. Had you written to tell me of three
hundred crowns, as you have now spoken, I would not have stirred
a foot for twice that sum. Nevertheless, I thank God and your most
reverend lordship for all things, seeing God has employed you as
the instrument for my great good in procuring my liberation from
imprisonment. Therefore I assure your lordship that all the troubles
you are now causing me fall a thousand times short of the great good
which you have done me. With all my heart I thank you, and take
good leave of you; wherever I may be, so long as I have life, I will
pray God for you." The Cardinal was greatly irritated, and cried out
in a rage: "Go where you choose; it is impossible to help people
against their will." Some of his good-for-nothing courtiers who were
present said: "That fellow sets great store on himself, for he is refus-
ing three hundred ducats a year." Another, who was a man of talent,
replied: "The King will never find his equal, and our Cardinal wants
to cheapen him, as though he were a load of wood." This was Messer
Luigi Alamanni who spoke to the above effect, as I was afterwards
informed. All this happened on the last day of October, in Dauphine,
at a castle the name of which I do not remember.
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XI
ON LEAVING THE CARDINAL I repaired to my lodging, which was three
miles distant, in company with a secretary of the Cardinal returning
to the same quarters. On the road, this man never stopped asking
me what I meant to do with myself, and what my own terms regard-
ing the appointment would have been. I gave him only one word
back for answer, which was that I knew all. When we came to our
quarters, I found Pagolo and Ascanio there; and seeing me much
troubled, they implored me to tell them what was the matter. To
the poor young men, who were all dismayed, I said for answer: "To-
morrow I shall give you money amply sufficient for your journey
home. I mean myself to go about a most important business without
you, which for a long time I have had it in my mind to do." Our
room adjoined that of the secretary; and I think it not improbable
that he wrote to the Cardinal, and informed him of my purpose.
However, I never knew anything for certain about this. The night
passed without sleep, and I kept wearying for the day, in order to
carry out my resolution.
No sooner did it dawn than I ordered out the horses, made my
preparations in a moment, and gave the two young men everything
which I had brought with me, and fifty ducats of gold in addition.
I reserved the same sum for myself, together with the diamond the
Duke had given me; I only kept two shirts and some well-worn
riding-clothes which I had upon my back. I found it almost impos-
sible to get free of the two young men, who insisted upon going
with me, whatever happened. At last I was obliged to treat them
with contempt, and use this language: "One of you has his first
beard, and the other is just getting it; and both of you have learned
as much from me as I could teach in my poor art, so that you are
now the first craftsmen among the youths of Italy. Are you not
ashamed to have no courage to quit this go-cart, but must always
creep about in leading-strings? The thing is too disgraceful! Or if I
were to send you away without money, what would you say then?
Come, take yourselves out of my sight, and may God bless you a
thousand times. Farewell!"
I turned my horse and left them weeping. Then I took my way
along a very fair road through a forest, hoping to make at least forty
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miles that day, and reach the most out-of-the-way place I could. I
had already ridden about two miles, and during that short time had
resolved never to revisit any of those parts where I was known. I
also determined to abandon my art so soon as I had made a Christ
three cubits in height, reproducing, so far as I was able, that infinite
beauty which He had Himself revealed to me. So then, being thor-
oughly resolved, I turned my face toward the Holy Sepulchre. 22
Just when I thought I had got so far that nobody could find me, I
heard horses galloping after. They filled me with some uneasiness,
because that district is infested with a race of brigands, who bear the
name of Venturers, and are apt to murder men upon the road.
Though numbers of them are hanged every day, it seems as though
they did not care. However, when the riders approached, I found
they were a messenger from the King and my lad Ascanio. The
former came up to me and said: "From the King I order you to come
immediately to his presence." I replied: "You have been sent by the
Cardinal, and for this reason I will not come." The man said that
since gender usage would not bring me, he had authority to raise
the folk, and they would take me bound hand and foot like a pris-
oner. Ascanio, for his part, did all he could to persuade me, remind-
ing me that when the King sent a man to prison, he kept him there
five years at least before he let him out again. This word about the
prison, when I remembered what I had endured in Rome, struck
such terror into me, that I wheeled my horse round briskly and fol-
lowed the King's messenger. He kept perpetually chattering in
French through all our journey, up to the very precincts of the
court, at one time bullying, now saying one thing, then another, till
I felt inclined to deny God and the world.
XII
ON OUR WAY to the lodgings of the King we passed before those of
the Cardinal of Ferrara. Standing at his door, he called to me and
said: "Our most Christian monarch has of his own accord assigned
you the same appointments which his Majesty allowed the painter
Lionardo da Vinci, that is, a salary of seven hundred crowns; in
addition, he will pay you for all the works you do for him; also for
* your journey hither he gives you five hundred golden crowns, which
will be paid you before you quit this place." At the end of this
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
announcement, I replied that those were offers worthy of the great
King he was. The messenger, not knowing anything about me, and
hearing what splendid offers had been made me by the King, begged
my pardon over and over again. Pagolo and Ascanio exclaimed: "It
is God who has helped us to get back into so honoured a go-cart!"
On the day following I went to thank the King, who ordered me
to make the models of twelve silver statues, which were to stand
as candelabra round his table. He wanted them to represent six gods
and six goddesses, and to have exactly the same height as his Majesty,
which was a trifle under four cubits. Having dictated this commis-
sion, he turned to his treasurer, and asked whether he had paid me
die five hundred crowns. The official said that he had received no
orders to that effect. The King took this very ill, for he had re-
quested the Cardinal to speak to him about it. Furthermore, he told
me to go to Paris and seek out a place to live in, fitted for the exe-
cution of such works; he would see that I obtained it.
I got the five hundred crowns of gold, and took up my quarters
at Paris in a house of the Cardinal of Ferrara. There I began, in
God's name, to work, and fashioned four little waxen models, about
two-thirds of a cubit each in height. They were Jupiter, Juno,
Apollo, and Vulcan. In this while the King returned to Paris; where-
upon I went to him at once, taking my models with me, and my two
prentices, Ascanio and Pagolo. On perceiving that the King was
pleased with my work, and being commissioned to execute the Jupi-
ter in silver of the height above described, I introduced the two
young men, and said that I had brought them with me out of Italy
to serve his Majesty; for inasmuch as they had been brought up by
me, I could at the beginning get more help from them than from the
Paris workmen. To this the King replied that I might name a salary
which I thought sufficient for their maintenance. I said that a hun-
dred crowns of gold apiece would be quite proper, and that I would
make them earn their wages well. This agreement was concluded.
Then I said that I had found a place which seemed to me exactly
suited to my industry; it was his Majesty's own property, and called
the Little Nello. The Provost of Paris was then in possession of it
from his Majesty; but since the Provost made no use of the castle,
his Majesty perhaps might grant it me to employ in his service. 28
He replied upon the instant: "That place is my own house, and I
know well that the man I gave it to does not inhabit or use it. So
yon shall have it for the work you have to do." He then told his
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lieutenants to install me in the Nello. This officer made some resist-
ance, pleading that he could not carry out the order. The King
answered in anger that he meant to bestow his property on whom
he pleased, and on a man who would serve him, seeing that he got
nothing from the other; therefore he would hear no more about it.
The lieutenant then submitted that some small force would have to
be employed in order to effect an entrance. To which the King
answered: "Go, then, and if a small force is not enough, use a
great one."
The officer took me immediately to the castle, and there put me
in possession, not, however, without violence; after that he warned
me to take very good care that I was not murdered. I installed my-
self, enrolled serving-men, and bought a quantity of pikes and parti-
sans; but I remained for several days exposed to grievous annoy-
ances, for the Provost was a great nobleman of Paris, and all the
other gentlefolk took part against me; they attacked me with such
insults that I could hardly hold my own against them. I must not
omit to mention that I entered the service of his Majesty in the year
1540, which was exactly the year in which I reached the age of
forty.
XIII
THE AFFRONTS AND INSULTS I received made me have recourse to the
King, begging his Majesty to establish me in some other place. He
answered: "Who are you, and what is your name?" I remained in
great confusion, and could not comprehend what he meant. Holding
my tongue thus, the King repeated the same words a second time
angrily. Then I said my name was Benvenuto. "If, then, you are the
Benvenuto of whom I have heard," replied the King, "act according
to your wont, for you have my full leave to do so." I told his Majesty
that all I wanted was to keep his favour; for the rest, I knew of noth-
ing that could harm me. He gave a little laugh, and said: "Go your
ways, then; you shall never want my favour." Upon this he told his
first secretary, Monsignor di Villerois, to see me provided and ac-
commodated with all I needed. 24
This Villerois was an intimate friend of the Provost, to whom the
castle had been given. It was built in a triangle, right up against the
city walls, and was of some antiquity, but had no garrison. The build-
ing was of considerable size. Monsignor di Villerois counselled me
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to look about for something else, and by all means to leave this place
alone, seeing that its owner was a man of vast power, who would
most assuredly have me killed. I answered that I had come from
Italy to France only in order to serve that illustrious King; and as
for dying, I knew for certain that die I must; a little earlier or a little
later was a matter of supreme indifference to me.
Now Villerois was a man of the highest talent, exceptionally dis-
tinguished in all points, and possessed of vast wealth. There was
nothing he would not gladly have done to harm me, but he made
no open demonstration of his mind. He was grave, and of a noble
presence, and spoke slowly, at his ease. To another gentleman, Mon-
signor di Marmagna, the treasurer of Languedoc, he left the duty of
molesting me. 25 The first thing which this man did was to look out
the best apartments in the castle, and to have them fitted up for him-
self. I told him that the King had given me the place to serve him in,
and that I did not choose it should be occupied by any but myself
and my attendants. The fellow, who was haughty, bold, and spirited,
replied that he meant to do just what he liked; that I should run my
head against a wall if I presumed to oppose him, and that Villerois
had given him authority to do what he was doing. I told him that,
by the King's authority given to me, neither he nor Villerois could
do it. When I said that he gave vent to offensive language in French,
whereat I retorted in my own tongue that he lied. Stung with rage,
he clapped his hand upon a little dagger which he had; then I set
my hand also to a large dirk which I always wore for my defence,
and cried out: "If you dare to draw, I'll kill you on the spot." He
had two servants to back him, and I had my two lads. For a moment
or two Marmagna stood in doubt, not knowing exactly what to do,
but rather inclined to mischief, and muttering: "I will never put up
with such insults." Seeing then that the affair was taking a bad turn,
I took a sudden resolution, and cried to Pagolo and Ascanio: "When
you see me draw my dirk, throw yourselves upon those serving-
men, and kill them if you can; I mean to kill this fellow at the first
stroke, and then we will decamp together, with God's grace." Mar-
magna, when he understood my purpose, was glad enough to get
alive out of the castle.
All these things, toning them down a trifle, I wrote to the Cardinal
of Fcrrara, who related them at once to the King. The King, deeply
irritated, committed me to the care of another officer of his body-
guard who was named Monsignor lo Iscontro d'Orbech. 20 By him I
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was accommodated with all that I required in the most gracious way
imaginable.
XIV
AFTER FITTING UP my own lodgings in the castle and the workshop
with all conveniences for carrying on my business, and putting my
household upon a most respectable footing, I began at once to con*
struct three models exactly of the size which the silver statues were
to be. These were Jupiter, Vulcan, and Mars. I moulded them in
clay, and set them well up on irons; then I went to the King, who
disbursed three hundred pounds weight of silver, if I remember
rightly, for the commencement of the undertaking. While I was get-
ting these things ready, we brought the little vase and oval basin to
completion, which had been several months in hand. Then I had
them richly gilt, and they showed like the finest piece of plate
which had been seen in France.
Afterwards I took them to the Cardinal, who thanked me greatly;
and, without requesting my attendance, carried and presented them
to the King. He was delighted with the gift, and praised me as no
artist was ever praised before. In return, he bestowed upon the
Cardinal an abbey worth seven thousand crowns a year, and ex-
pressed his intention of rewarding me too. The Cardinal, however,
prevented him, telling his Majesty that he was going ahead too fast,
since I had as yet produced nothing for him. The King, who was
exceedingly generous, replied: "For that very reason will I put heart
and hope into him." The Cardinal, ashamed at his own meanness,
said: "Sire, I beg you to leave that to me; I will allow him a pension
of at least three hundred crowns when I have taken possession of
the abbey." He never gave me anything; and it would be tedious to
relate all the knavish tricks of this prelate. I prefer to dwell on mat-
ters of greater moment.
XV
WHEN i RETURNED to Paris, the great favour shown me by the King
made me a mark for all men's admiration. I received the silver and
began my statue of Jupiter. Many journeymen were now in my
employ; and the work went onward briskly day and night; so that,
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by the time I had finished the clay models of Jupiter, Vulcan, and
Mars, and had begun to get the silver statue forward, my workshop
made already a grand show.
The King now came to Paris, and I went to pay him my respects.
No sooner had his Majesty set eyes upon me than he called me cheer-
fully, and asked if I had something fine to exhibit at my lodging, for
he would come to inspect it. I related all I had been doing; upon
which he was seized with a strong desire to come. Accordingly,
after his dinner, he set off with Madame de Tampes, the Cardinal
of Lorraine, and some other of his greatest nobles, among whom
were the King of Navarre, his cousin, and the Queen, his sister; the
Dauphin and Dauphiness also attended him; so that upon that day
the very flower of the French court came to visit me. 27 I had been
some time at home, and was hard at work. When the King arrived
at the door of the castle, and heard our hammers going, he bade his
company keep silence. Everybody in my house was busily employed,
so that the unexpected entrance of his Majesty took me by surprise.
The first thing he saw on coming into the great hall was myself with
a huge plate of silver in my hand, which I was beating for the body
of my Jupiter; one of my men was finishing the head, another the
legs; and it is easy to imagine what a din we made between us. It
happened that a little French lad was working at my side, who had
just been guilty of some trifling blunder. I gave the lad a kick, and,
as my good luck would have it, caught him with my foot exactly
in the fork between his legs, and sent him spinning several yards, so
that he came stumbling up against the King precisely at the moment
when his Majesty arrived. The King was vastly amused, but I felt
covered with confusion. He began to ask me what I was engaged
upon, and told me to go on working; then he said that he would
much rather have me not employ my strength on manual labour, but
take as many men as I wanted, and make them do the rough work;
he should like me to keep myself in health, in order that he might
enjoy my services through many years to come. I replied to his
Majesty that the moment I left off working I should fall ill; also that
my art itself would suffer, and not attain the mark I aimed at for
his Majesty, Thinking that I spoke thus only to brag, and not be-
cause it was the truth, he made the Cardinal of Lorraine repeat what
he had said; but I explained my reasons so fully and clearly, that the
Cardinal perceived my drift; he then advised the King to let me
labour as much or little as I liked.
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XVI
BEING VERY WELL SATISFIED with what he had seen, the King returned
to his palace, after bestowing on me too many marks of favour to be
here recorded. On the following day he sent for me at his dinner-
hour. The Cardinal of Ferrara was there at meat with him. When I
arrived, the King had reached his second course; he began at once
to speak to me, saying, with a pleasant cheer, that having now so
fine a basin and jug of my workmanship, he wanted an equally hand-
some salt-cellar to match them; and begged me to make a design,
and to lose no time about it. I replied: "Your Majesty shall see a
model of the sort even sooner than you have commanded; for while
I was making the basin, I thought there ought to be a salt-cellar to
match it; therefore I have already designed one, and if it is your
pleasure, I will at once exhibit my conception." The King turned
with a lively movement of surprise and pleasure to the lords in his
company they were the King of Navarre, the Cardinal of Lorraine,
and the Cardinal of Ferrara exclaiming as he did so: "Upon my
word, this is a man to be loved and cherished by every one who
knows him." Then he told me that he would very gladly see my
model.
I set off, and returned in a few minutes; for I had only to cross
the river, that is, the Seine. I carried with me the wax model which
I had made in Rome at the Cardinal of Ferrara's request. When I
appeared again before the King and uncovered my piece, he cried
out in astonishment: "This is a hundred times more divine a thing
than I had ever dreamed of. What a miracle of a man! He ought
never to stop working." Then he turned to me with a beaming
countenance, and told me that he greatly liked the piece, and wished
me to execute it in gold. The Cardinal of Ferrara looked me in the
face, and let me understand that he recognised the model as the
same which I had made for him in Rome. I replied that I had already
told him I should carry it out for one who was worthy of it. The
Cardinal, remembering my words, and nettled by the revenge he
thought that I was taking on him, remarked to the King: "Sire, this
is an enormous undertaking; I am only afraid that we shall never see
h finished. These able artists who have great conceptions in their
brain are ready enough to put the same in execution without duly
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considering when they are to be accomplished. I therefore, if I
gave commission for things of such magnitude, should like to know
when I was likely to get them." The King replied that if a man was
so scrupulous about the termination of a work, he would never begin
anything at all; these words he uttered with a certain look, which
implied that such enterprises were not for folk of little spirit. I then
began to say my say: "Princes who put heart and courage in their
servants, as your Majesty does by deed and word, render under-
takings of the greatest magnitude quite easy. Now that God has sent
me so magnificent a patron, I hope to perform for him a multitude
of great and splendid masterpieces." "I believe it," said the King,
and rose from table. Then he called me into his chamber, and asked
how much gold was wanted for the salt-cellar. "A thousand crowns,"
I answered. He called his treasurer at once, who was the Viscount of
Orbec, and ordered him that very day to disburse to me a thousand
crowns of good weight and old gold.
When I left his Majesty, I went for the two notaries who had
helped me in procuring silver for the Jupiter and many other things.
Crossing the Seine, I then took a small hand-basket, which one of
my cousins, a nun, had given me on my journey through Florence.
It made for my good fortune that I took this basket and not a bag.
So then, thinking I could do the business by daylight, for it was
still early, and not caring to interrupt my workmen, and being in-
disposed to take a servant with me, I set off alone. When I reached
the house of the treasurer, I found that he had the money laid out
before him, and was selecting the best pieces as the King had ordered.
It seemed to me, however, that that thief of a treasurer was doing all
he could to postpone the payment of the money; nor were the pieces
counted out until three hours after nightfall.
I meanwhile was not wanting in despatch, for I sent word to sev-
eral of my journeymen that they should come and attend me, since
die matter was one of serious importance. When I found that they
did not arrive, I asked the messenger if he had done my errand. The
rascal of a groom whom I had sent replied that he had done so, but
that they had answered that they could not come; he, however,
would gladly carry the money for me. I answered that I meant to
carry the money myself. By this time the contract was drawn up and
signed On the money being counted, I put it all into my little basket,
and then thrust my arm through the two handles. Since I did this
with some difficulty, the gold was well shut in, and I carried it
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more conveniently than if the vehicle had been a bag. I was well
armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, and having my sword and
dagger at my side, made off along the street as quick as my two
legs would carry me.
XVII
JUST AS i LEFT THE HOUSE, I observed some servants whispering
among themselves, who also went off at a round pace in another
direction from the one I took. Walking with all haste, I passed the
bridge of the Exchange, 28 and went up along a wall beside the river
which led to my lodging in the castle. I had just come to the
Augustines now this was a very perilous passage, and though it
was only five hundred paces distant from my dwelling, yet the
lodging in the castle being quite as far removed inside, no one could
have heard my voice if I had shoutedwhen I saw four men with
four swords in their hands advancing to attack me. 2 * My resolution
was taken in an instant. I covered the basket with my cape, drew my
sword, and seeing that they were pushing hotly forward, cried
aloud: "With soldiers there is only the cape and sword to gain; and
these, before I give them up, I hope you'll get not much to your
advantage." Then crossing my sword boldly with them, I more than
once spread out my arms, in order that, if the ruffians were put on
by the servants who had seen me take my money, they might be
led to judge I was not carrying it. The encounter was soon over; for
they retired step by step, saying among themselves in their own
language: "This is a brave Italian, and certainly not the man we
are after; or if he be the man, he cannot be carrying anything." I
spoke Italian, and kept harrying them with thrust and slash so hotly
that I narrowly missed killing one or the other. My skill in using
the sword made them think I was a soldier rather than a fellow of
some other calling. They drew together and began to fall back,
muttering all the while beneath their breath in their own tongue. I
meanwhile continued always calling out, but not too loudly, that
those who wanted my cape and blade would have to get them with
some trouble. Then I quickened pace, while they still followed
slowly at my heels; this augmented my fear, for I thought I might
be falling into an ambuscade, which would have cut me off in front
as well as rear. Accordingly, when I was at the distance of a hun-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
dred paces from my home, I ran with all my might, and shouted at
the top of my voice: "To arms, to arms! out with you, out with you!
I am being murdered." In a moment four of my young men came
running, with four pikes in their hands. They wanted to pursue the
ruffians, who could still be seen; but I stopped them, calling back so
as to let the villains hear: "Those cowards yonder, four against
one man alone, had not pluck enough to capture a thousand golden
crowns in metal, which have almost broken this arm of mine. Let
us haste inside and put the money away; then I will take my big
two-handed sword, and go with you whithersoever you like." We
went inside to secure the gold; and my lads, while expressing deep
concern for the peril I had run, gently chided me, and said: "You
risk yourself too much alone; the time will come when you will
make us all bemoan your loss." A thousand words and exclamations
were exchanged between us; my adversaries took to flight; and we
all sat down and supped together with mirth and gladness, laugh-
ing over those great blows which fortune strikes, for good as well
as evil, and which, what time they do not hit the mark, are just
the same as though they had not happened. 80 It is very true that
one says to oneself: "You will have Had a lesson for next time." But
that is not the case; for fortune always comes upon us in new
ways, quite unforeseen by our imagination.
XVIII
ON THE MORNING which f ollowed these events, I made the first step
in my work upon the great salt-cellar, pressing this and my other
pieces forward with incessant industry. My work-people at this
time, who were pretty numerous, included both sculptors and
goldsmiths. They belonged to several nations, Italian, French, and
German; for I took the best I could find, and changed them often,
retaining only those who knew their business well. These select
craftsmen I worked to the bone with perpetual labour. They wanted
to rival me; but I had a better constitution. Consequently, in their
inability to bear up against such a continuous strain, they took to
eating and drinking copiously; some of the Germans in particular,
who were more skilled than their comrades, and wanted to march
apace with me, sank under these excesses, and perished.
White I was at work upon the Jupiter, I noticed that I had plenty
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of silver to spare. So I took in hand, without consulting the King,
to make a great two-handled vase, about one cubit and a half in
height. I also conceived the notion of casting the large model of my
Jupiter in bronze. Having up to this date done nothing of the sort,
I conferred with certain old men experienced in that art at Paris, and
described to them the methods in use with us in Italy. They told me
they had never gone that way about the business; but that if I
gave them leave to act upon their own principles, they would bring
the bronze out as clean and perfect as the clay. I chose to strike an
agreement, throwing on them the responsibility, and promising
several crowns above the price they bargained for. Thereupon they
put the work in progress; but I soon saw that they were going the
wrong way about it, and began on my own account a head of Julius
Caesar, bust and armour, much larger than the life, which I modelled
from a reduced copy of a splendid antique portrait I had brought
with me from Rome. I also undertook another head of the same size,
studied from a very handsome girl, whom I kept for my own pleas-
ures. I called this Fontainebleau, after the place selected by the
King for his particular delight.
We constructed an admirable little furnace for the casting of the
bronze, got all things ready, and baked our moulds; those French
masters undertaking the Jupiter, while I looked after my two heads.
Then I said: "I do not think you will succeed with your Jupiter,
because you have not provided sufficient vents beneath for the air to
circulate; therefore you are but losing your time and trouble." They
replied that, if their work proved a failure, they would pay back
the money I had given on account, and recoup me for current ex-
penses; but they bade me give good heed to my own proceedings,* 1
for the fine heads I meant to cast in my Italian fashion would never
succeed.
At this dispute between us there were present the treasurers and
other gentlefolk commissioned by the King to superintend my pro-
ceedings. Everything which passed by word or act was duly re-
ported to his Majesty. The two old men who had undertaken to
cast my Jupiter postponed the experiment, saying they would like
to arrange the moulds of my two heads. They argued that, accord-
ing to my method, no success could be expected, and it was a pity to
waste such fine models. When the King was informed of this, he
sent word that they should give their minds to learning, and not try
to teach their master.
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So then they put their own piece into the furnace with much
laughter; while I, maintaining a firm carriage, showing neither mirth
nor anger (though I felt it), placed my two heads, one on each side
of the Jupiter. The metal came all right to melting, and we let it in
with joy and gladness; it filled the mould of the Jupiter most ad-
mirably, and at the same time my two heads. This furnished them
with matter for rejoicing and me with satisfaction; for I was not
sorry to have predicted wrongly of their work, and they made as
though they were delighted to have been mistaken about mine. Then,
as the custom in France is, they asked to drink, in high good spirits.
I was very willing, and ordered a handsome collation for their enter-
tainment. When this was over, they requested me to pay the money
due to them and the surplus I had promised. I replied: "You have
been laughing over what, I fear, may make you weep. On reflection,
it seems to me that too much metal flowed into your mould. There-
fore I shall wait until to-morrow before I disburse more money."
The poor fellows swallowed my words and chewed the cud of
them; then they went home without further argument.
At daybreak they began, quite quietly, to break into the pit of the
furnace. They could not uncover their large mould until they had
extracted my two heads; these were in excellent condition, and they
placed them where they could be well seen. When they came to
Jupiter, and had dug but scarcely two cubits, they sent up such a yell,
they and their four workmen, that it woke me up. Fancying it was
a shout of triumph, I set off running, for my bedroom was at the
distance of more than five hundred paces. On reaching the spot, I
found them looking like the guardians of Christ's sepulchre in a
picture, downcast and terrified. Casting a hasty glance upon my two
heads, and seeing they were all right, I tempered my annoyance with
the pleasure that sight gave me. Then they began to make excuses,
crying: "Our bad luck!" I retorted: "Your luck has been most
excellent, but what has been indeed bad is your deficiency of
knowledge; had I only seen you put the soul 82 into your mould, I
could have taught you with one word how to cast the figure without
fault. This would have brought me great honour and you much
profit. I shall be able to make good my reputation; but you will
now lose both your honour and your profit. Let then this lesson
teach you another time to work, and not to poke fun at your
masters. 9 '
They prayed me to have pity on them, confessing I was right,
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but pleading that, unless I helped them, the costs they had to bear
and the loss they had sustained would turn them and their families
upon the streets a-begging. I answered that if the King's treasurers
obliged them to pay according to their contract, I would defray
the cost out of my own purse, because I saw that they had honestly
and heartily performed their task according to their knowledge.
This way of mine in dealing with them raised the good-will of the
King's treasurers and other officers toward me to a pitch which
cannot be described. The whole affair was written to his Majesty,
who being without a paragon for generosity, gave directions that
all I ordered in this matter should be done.
XIX
ABOUT THIS TIME the illustrious soldier Piero Strozzi arrived in
France, and reminded the King that he had promised him letters
of naturalisation. 88 These were accordingly made out; and at the
same time the King said: "Let them be also given to Benvenuto, mon
ami, and take them immediately to his house, and let him have them
without the payment of any fees." Those of the great Strozzi cost
him several hundred ducats; mine were brought me by one of the
King's chief secretaries, Messer Antonio Massone. 84 This gentleman
presented them with many expressions of kindness from his Majesty,
saying: "The King makes you a gift of these, in order that you may
be encouraged to serve him; they are letters of naturalisation." Then
he told me how they had been given to Piero Strozzi at his particu-
lar request, and only after a long time of waiting, as a special mark of
favour; the King had sent mine of his own accord, and such an act
of grace had never been heard of in that realm before. When I
heard these words, I thanked his Majesty with heartiness; but I
begged the secretary to have the kindness to tell me what letters
of naturalisation meant. He was a man accomplished and polite, who
spoke Italian excellently. At first my question made him laugh; then
he recovered his gravity, and told me in my own language what the
papers signified, adding that they conferred one of the highest
dignities a foreigner could obtain: "indeed, it is a far greater honour
than to be made a nobleman of Venice."
When he left me, he returned and told his Majesty, who laughed
awhile, and then said: "Now I wish him to know my object in send-
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ing those letters of naturalisation. Go and install him lord of the
castle of the Little Nello, where he lives, and which is a part of my
demesne. He will know what that means better than he understood
about the letters of naturalisation." A messenger brought me the
patent, upon which I wanted to give him a gratuity. He refused to
accept it, saying that his Majesty had so ordered. These letters of
naturalisation, together with the patent for the castle, I brought
with me when I returned to Italy; wherever I go and wherever I
may end my days, I shall endeavour to preserve them. 88
XX
I SHALL NOW PROCEED with the narration of my life. I had on hand
the following works already mentioned, namely, the silver Jupiter,
the golden salt-cellar, the great silver vase, and the two bronze
heads. I also began to cast the pedestal for Jupiter, which I wrought
very richly in bronze, covered with ornaments, among which was a
bas-relief, representing the rape of Ganymede, and on the other
side Leda and the Swan. On casting this piece it came out admirably.
I also made another pedestal of the same sort for the statue of Juno,
intending to begin that too, if the King gave me silver for the pur-
pose. By working briskly I had put together the silver Jupiter and
die golden salt-cellar; the vase was far advanced; the two bronze
heads were finished. I had also made several little things for the
Cardinal of Ferrara, and a small silver vase of rich workmanship,
which I meant to present to Madame d'Etampes. Several Italian
noblemen, to wit, Signor Piero Strozzi, the Count of Anguillara, the
Count of Pitigliano, the Count of Mirandola, and many others, gave
me employment also. 86
For my great King, as I have said, I had been working strenuously,
and the third day after he returned to Paris, he came to my house,
attended by a crowd of his chief nobles. He marvelled to find how
many pieces I had advanced, and with what excellent results. His
mistress, Madame d'Etampes, being with him, they began to talk
of Fontainebleau. She told his Majesty he ought to commission me
to execute something beautiful for the decoration of his favourite
residence. He answered on the instant: "You say well, and here
upon the spot I will make up my mind what I mean him to do."
Then he turned to me, and asked me what I thought would be ap-
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propriate for that beautiful fountain. 87 1 suggested several ideas, and
his Majesty expressed his own opinion. Afterwards he said that he
was going to spend fifteen or twenty days at San Germano del Aia, 88
a place twelve leagues distant from Paris; during his absence he
wished me to make a model for that fair fountain of his in the
richest style I could invent, seeing he delighted in that residence
more than in anything else in his whole realm. Accordingly he com-
manded and besought me to do my utmost to produce something
really beautiful; and I promised that I would do so.
When the King saw so many finished things before him, he ex-
claimed to Madame d'Etampes: "I never had an artist who pleased
me more, nor one who deserved better to be well rewarded; we
must contrive to keep him with us. He spends freely, is a boon
companion, and works hard; we must therefore take good thought
for him. Only think, madam, all the times that he has come to me
or that I have come to him, he has never once asked for anything;
one can see that his heart is entirely devoted to his work. We ought
to make a point of doing something for him quickly, else we run a
risk of losing him." Madame d'Etampes answered: "I will be sure
to remind you." Then they departed, and in addition to the things
I had begun, I now took the model of the fountain in hand, at which
I worked assiduously.
XXI
AT THE END of a month and a half the King returned to Paris; and
I, who had been working day and night, went to present myself
before him, taking my model, so well blocked out that my inten-
tion could be clearly understood. Just about that time, the devilries
of war between the Emperor and King had been stirred up again,
so that I found him much harassed by anxieties. 89 1 spoke, however,
with the Cardinal of Ferrara, saying I had brought some models
which his Majesty had ordered, and begging him, if he found an
opportunity, to put in a word whereby I might be able to exhibit
them; the King, I thought, would take much pleasure in their
sight. This the Cardinal did; and no sooner had he spoken of the
models, than the King came to the place where I had set them up.
The first of these was intended for the door of the palace at Fon-
tainebleau. I had been obliged to make some alterations in the
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architecture of this door, which was wide and low, in their vicious
French style. The opening was very nearly square, and above it was
a hemicycle, flattened like the handle of a basket; here the King
wanted a figure placed to represent the genius of Fontaineblcau. I
corrected the proportions of the doorway, and placed above it an
exact half circle; at the sides I introduced projections, with socles
and cornices properly corresponding: then, instead of the columns
demanded by this disposition of parts, I fashioned two satyrs, one
upon each side. The first of these was in somewhat more than
half-relief, lifting one hand to support the cornice, and holding a
thick club in the other; his face was fiery and menacing, instilling
fear into the beholders. The other had the same posture of sup-
port; but I varied his features and some other details; in his hand,
for instance, he held a lash with three balls attached to chains.
Though I called them satyrs, they showed nothing of the satyr ex-
cept little horns and a goatish head; all the rest of their form was
human. In the lunette above I placed a female figure lying in an
attitude of noble grace; she rested her left arm on a stag's neck, this
animal being one of the King's emblems. On one side I worked little
fawns in half -relief with some wild boars and other game in lower
relief; on the other side were hounds and divers dogs of the chase
of several species, such as may be seen in that fair forest where the
fountain springs. The whole of this composition was enclosed in
an oblong, each angle of which contained a Victory in bas-relief,
holding torches after the manner of the ancients. Above the oblong
was a salamander, the King's particular device, with many other
ornaments appropriate to the Ionic architecture of the whole design.
XXII
WHEN THE KING had seen this model, it restored him to cheerfulness,
and distracted his mind from the fatiguing debates he had been
holding during the past two hours. Seeing him cheerful as I wished,
I uncovered the other model, which he was far from expecting, since
he not unreasonably judged that the first had work in it enough.
This one was a little higher than two cubits; it figured a fountain
shaped in a perfect square, with handsome steps all round, intersect-
ing each other in a way which was unknown in France, and is in-
deed very uncommon in Italy. In the middle of the fountain I set
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a pedestal, projecting somewhat above the margin of the basin, and
upon this a nude male figure, of the right proportion to the whole
design, and of a very graceful form. In his right hand he raised a
broken lance on high; his left hand rested on a scimitar; he was poised
upon the left foot, the right being supported by a helmet of the
richest imaginable workmanship. At each of the four angles of the
fountain a figure was sitting, raised above the level of the base, and
accompanied by many beautiful and appropriate emblems.
The King began by asking me what I meant to represent by the
fine fancy I had embodied in this design, saying that he had under-
stood the door without explanation, but that he could not take the
conception of my fountain, although it seemed to him most beauti-
ful; at the same time, he knew well that I was not like those foolish
folk who turn out something with a kind of grace, but put no
intention into their performances. I then addressed myself to the
task of exposition; for having succeeded in pleasing him with my
work, I wanted him to be no less pleased with my discourse. "Let
me inform your sacred Majesty," I thus began, "that the whole of
this model is so exactly made to scale, that, if it should come to being
executed in the large, none of its grace and lightness will be sacrificed.
The figure in the middle is meant to stand fifty-four feet above the
level of the ground." At this announcement the King made a sign of
surprise. "It is, moreover, intended to represent the god Mars. The
other figures embody those arts and sciences in which your Majesty
takes pleasure, and which you so generously patronise. This one,
upon the right hand, is designed for Learning; you will observe that
the accompanying emblems indicate Philosophy, and her attendant
branches of knowledge. By the next I wished to personify the whole
Art of Design, including Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture. The
third is Music, which cannot be omitted from the sphere of in-
tellectual culture. That other, with so gracious and benign a mien,
stands for Generosity, lacking which the mental gifts bestowed on
us by God will not be brought to view. I have attempted to portray
your Majesty, your very self, in the great central statue; for you
are truly a god Mars, the only brave upon this globe, and all your
bravery you use with justice and with piety in the defence of your
own glory." Scarcely had he allowed me to finish this oration, when
he broke forth with a strong voice: "Verily I have found a man here
after my own heart." Then he called the treasurers who were ap-
pointed for my supplies, and told them to disburse whatever I re*
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quired, let the cost be what it might. Next, he laid his hand upon my
shoulder, saying "Mon ami (which is the same as my friend), I know
not whether the pleasure be greater for the prince who finds a man
after his own heart, or for the artist who finds a prince willing to
furnish him with means for carrying out his great ideas." I answered
that, if I was really the man his Majesty described, my good fortune
was by far the greater. He answered laughingly: "Let us agree, then,
that our luck is equal!" Then I departed in the highest spirits, and
went back to my work.
XXIII
MY ILL-LUCK willed that I was not wide-awake enough to play the
like comedy with Madame d'Etampes. That evening, when she heard
the whole course of events from the King's own lips, it bred such
poisonous fury in her breast that she exclaimed with anger: "If
Benvenuto had shown me those fine things of his, he would have
given me some reason to be mindful of him at the proper moment."
The King sought to excuse me, but he made no impression on her
temper. Being informed of what had passed, I waited fifteen days,
during which they made a tour through Normandy, visiting Rouen
and Dieppe; then, when they returned to S. Germain-en-Laye, I
took the handsome little vase which I had made at the request of
Madame d'Etampes, hoping, if I gave it her, to recover the favour
I had lost. With this in my hand, then, I announced my presence to
her nurse, and showed the gift which I had brought her mistress;
the woman received me with demonstrations of good-will, and said
that she would speak a word to Madame, who was still engaged
upon her toilette; I should be admitted on the instant, when she had
discharged her embassy. The nurse made her report in full to
Madame, who retorted scornfully: "Tell him to wait." On hearing
this, I clothed myself with patience, which of all things I find the
most difficult. Nevertheless, I kept myself under control until the
hour for dinner was past. Then, seeing that time dragged on, and
being maddened by hunger, I could no longer hold out, but flung
off, sending her most devoutly to the devil,
I hext betook myself to the Cardinal of Lorraine, and made him
a present of the vase, only petitioning his Eminence to maintain me
ki die King's good graces. He said there was no need for this; and
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if there were need he would gladly speak for me. Then he called his
treasurer, and whispered a few words in his ear. The treasurer waited
till I took my leave of the Cardinal; after which he said to me:
"Benvenuto, come with me, and I will give you a glass of good
wine to drink." I answered, not understanding what he meant: "For
Heaven's sake, Mr. Treasurer, let me have but one glass of wine
and a mouthful of bread; for I am really fainting for want of food.
I have fasted since early this morning up to the present moment,
at the door of Madame d'Etampes; I went to give her that fine piece
of silver-gilt plate, and took pains that she would be informed of
my intention; but she, with the mere petty will to vex me, bade
me wait; now I am famished, and feel my forces failing; as God
willed it, I have bestowed my gift and labour upon one who is far
more worthy of them. I only crave of you something to drink; for
being rather too bilious by nature, fast upsets me so that I run the
risk now of falling from exhaustion to the earth." While I was
pumping out these words with difficulty, they brought some ad-
mirable wine and other delicacies for a hearty meal. I refreshed
myself, and having recovered my vital spirits, found that my ex-
asperation had departed from me.
The good treasurer handed me a hundred crowns in gold. I
sturdily refused to accept them. He reported this to the Cardinal,
who swore at him, and told him to make me take the money by
force, and not to show himself again till he had done so. The treas-
urer returned, much irritated, saying he had never been so scolded
before by the Cardinal; but when he pressed the crowns upon me,
I still offered some resistance. Then, quite angry, he said he would
use force to make me take them. So I accepted the money. When
I wanted to thank the Cardinal in person, he sent word by one of
his secretaries that he would gladly do me a service whenever the
occasion offered. I returned the same evening to Paris. The King
heard the whole history, and Madame d'Etampes was well laughed
at in their company. This increased her animosity against me, and
led to an attack upon my life, of which I shall speak in the proper
time and place.
XXIV
FAR BACK in my autobiography I ought to have recorded the friend-
ship which I won with the most cultivated, the most affectionate,
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and the most companionable man of worth I ever knew in this world.
He was Messer Guido Guidi, an able physician and doctor of medi-
cine, and a nobleman of Florence. 4 * The infinite troubles brought
upon me by my evil fortune caused me to omit the mention of him
at an earlier date; and though my remembrance may be but a trifle,
I deemed it sufficient to keep him always in my heart. Yet, finding
that the drama of my life required his presence, I shall introduce him
here at the moment of my greatest trials, in order that, as he was
then my comfort and support, I may now recall to memory the
good he did me. 41
Well, then, Messer Guido came to Paris; and not long after making
his acquaintance, I took him to my castle, and there assigned him
his own suite of apartments. We enjoyed our lives together in that
place for several years. The Bishop of Pavia, that is to say, Mon-
signore de' Rossi, brother of the Count of San Secondo, also ar-
rived. 42 This gentleman I removed from his hotel, and took him to
my castle, assigning him in like manner his own suite of apart-
ments, where he sojourned many months with serving-men and
horses. On another occasion I lodged Messer Luigi Alamanni and
his sons for some months. It was indeed God's grace to me that I
should thus, in my poor station, be able to render services to men of
great position and acquirements.
But to return to Messer Guido. We enjoyed our mutual friend-
ship during all the years I stayed in Paris, and often did we exult
together on being able to advance in art and knowledge at the cost
of that so great and admirable prince, our patron, each in his own
branch of industry. I can indeed, and with good conscience, affirm
that all I am, whatever of good and beautiful I have produced, all
this must be ascribed to that extraordinary monarch. So, then, I will
resume the thread of my discourse concerning him and the great
things I wrought for him.
XXV
I HAD A TENNIS-COURT in my castle, from which I drew considerable
profit. The building also contained some little dwellings inhabited
by different sorts of men, among whom was a printer of books of
much excellence in his own trade. Nearly the whole of his premises
lay inside the castle, and he was the man who printed Messer Guide's
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first fine book on medicine. 48 Wanting to make use of his lodging, I
turned him out, but not without some trouble. There was also a
manufacturer of saltpetre; and when I wished to assign his apart-
ments to some of my German workmen, the fellow refused to leave
the place. I asked him over and over again in gentle terms to give
me up my rooms, because I wanted to employ them for my work-
people in the service of the King. The more moderately I spoke,
the more arrogantly did the brute reply; till at last I gave him three
days' notice to quit. He laughed me in the face, and said that he
would begin to think of it at the end of three years. I had not
then learned that he was under the protection of Madame d'Etampes;
but had it not been that the terms on which I stood toward that
lady made me a little more circumspect than I was wont to be, I
should have ousted him at once; now, however, I thought it best
to keep my temper for three days. When the term was over, I said
nothing, but took Germans, Italians, and Frenchmen, bearing arms,
and many hand-labourers whom I had in my employ, and in a short
while gutted all his house and flung his property outside my castle.
I resorted to these somewhat rigorous measures because he had told
me that no Italian whom he knew of had the power or spirit to re-
move one ring of iron from its place in his house. Well, after the
deed was done, he came to find me, and I said to him: "I am the
least of all Italians in Italy, and yet I have done nothing to you in
comparison with what I have the heart to do, and will do if you utter
a single further word," adding other terms of menace and abuse.
The man, dumbfounded and affrighted, got his furniture together
as well as he was able; then he ran off to Madame d'Etampes, and
painted a picture of me like the very fiend. She being my great
enemy, painted my portrait still blacker to the King, with all her
greater eloquence and all her greater weight of influence. As I was
afterwards informed, his Majesty twice showed signs of irritation
and was minded to use me roughly; but Henry the Dauphin, his son,
now King of France, who had received some affronts from that im-
perious woman, together with the Queen of Navarre, sister to King
Francis, espoused my cause so cleverly that he passed the matter
over with a laugh. So with God's assistance I escaped from a great
danger.
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XXVI
I HAD TO DEAL in like manner with another fellow, but I did not ruin
his house; I only threw all his furniture out of doors. This time
Madame d'Etampes had the insolence to tell the King: "I believe
that devil will sack Paris one of these days." The King answered
with some anger that I was only quite right to defend myself from
the low rabble who put obstacles in the way of my serving him.
The rage of this vindictive woman kept continually on the in-
crease. She sent for a painter who was established at Fontainebleau,
where the King resided nearly all his time. The painter was an
Italian and a Bolognese, known then as II Bologna; his right name,
however, was Francesco Primaticcio. 44 Madame d'Etampes advised
him to beg that commission for the fountain which his Majesty had
given me, adding that she would support him with all her ability; and
upon this they agreed. Bologna was in an ecstasy of happiness, and
thought himself sure of the affair, although such things were not
in his line of art. He was, however, an excellent master of design,
and had collected round him a troop of work-people formed in the
school of Rosso, our Florentine painter, who was undoubtedly an
artist of extraordinary merit; his own best qualities indeed were
derived from the admirable manner of Rosso, who by this time
had died.
These ingenious arguments, and the weighty influence of Madame
d'Etampes, prevailed with the King; for they kept hammering at
him night and day, Madame at one time, and Bologna at another.
What worked most upon his mind was that both of them combined
to speak as follows: "How is it possible, sacred Majesty, that Ben-
venuto should accomplish the twelve silver statues which you want?
He has not finished one of them yet. If you employ him on so great
an undertaking, you will, of necessity, deprive yourself of those
other things on which your heart is set. A hundred of the ablest
craftsmen could not complete so many great works as this one able
man has taken in hand to do. One can see clearly that he has a passion
for labour; but this ardent temper will be the cause of your Majesty's
losing both him and his masterpieces at the same moment." By in-
sinuating these and other suggestions of the same sort at a favourable
opportunity, the King consented to their petition; and yet Bologna
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had at this time produced neither designs nor models for the
fountains.
XXVII
IT HAPPENED that just at this period an action was brought against
me in Paris by the second lodger I had ousted from my castle, who
pretended that on that occasion I had stolen a large quantity of his
effects. This lawsuit tormented me beyond measure, and took up so
much of my time that I often thought of decamping in despair from
the country. Now the French are in the habit of making much
capital out of any action they commence against a foreigner, or
against such persons as they notice to be indolent in litigation. No
sooner do they observe that they are getting some advantage in the
suit, than they find the means to sell it; some have even been known
to give a lawsuit in dowry with their daughters to men who make
a business out of such transactions. They have another ugly custom,
which is that the Normans, nearly all of them, traffic in false evi-
dence; so that the men who buy up lawsuits, engage at once the
services of four or six of these false witnesses, according to their
need; their adversary, if he neglect to produce as many on the
other side, being perhaps unacquainted with the custom, is certain
to have the verdict given against him.
All this happened in my case, and thinking it a most disgraceful
breach of justice, I made my appearance in the great hall of Paris,
to defend my right. There I saw a judge, lieutenant for the King
in civil causes, enthroned upon a high tribunal. He was tall, stout,
and fat, and of an extremely severe countenance. All round him on
each side stood a crowd of solicitors and advocates, ranged upon
the right hand and the left. Others were coming, one by one, to ex-
plain their several causes to the judge. From time to time, too, I
noticed that the attorneys at the side of the tribunal talked all at
once: and much admiration was aroused in me by that extraordinary
man, the very image of Pluto, who listened with marked attention
first to one and then to the other, answering each with learning
and sagacity. I have always delighted in watching and experiencing
every kind of skill; so I would not have lost this spectacle for much.
It happened that the hall being very large, and filled with a multitude
of folk, they were strict in excluding every one who had no business
there, and kept the door shut with a guard to hold it. Sometimes
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the guardian, in his effort to prevent the entrance of some improper
person, interrupted the judge by the great noise he made, and the
judge in anger turned to chide him. This happened frequently, so
that my attention was directed to the act. On one occasion, when
two gentlemen were pushing their way in as spectators, and the
porter was opposing them with violence, the judge raised his voice,
and spoke the following words precisely as I heard them: "Keep
peace, Satan, begone, and hold your tongue." These words in the
French tongue sound as follows: Phe, phe, Satan, phe, phe, ale,
phe! 46 Now I had learned the French tongue well; and on hearing
this sentence, the meaning of that phrase used by Dante came into
my memory, when he and his master Virgil entered the doors of
Hell. Dante and the painter Giotto were together in France, and
particularly in the city of Paris, where, owing to the circumstances
I have just described, the hall of justice may be truly called a hell.
Dante then, who also understood French well, made use of the
phrase in question, and it has struck me as singular that this inter-
pretation has never yet been put upon the passage; indeed, it con-
firms my opinion that the commentators make him say things which
never came into his head.
XXVIII
WELL, THEN, to return to my affairs. When certain decisions of the
court were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause
had been unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defence to a great
dagger which I carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping
fine weapons. The first man I attacked was the plaintiff who had
sued me; and one evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so
severely, taking care, however, not to kill him, that I deprived him
of the use of both his legs. Then I sought out the other fellow
who had bought the suit, and used him also such wise that he
dropped it.
Returning thanks to God for this and every other dispensation,
and hoping to be left awhile without worries, I bade the young men
of my household, especially the Italians, for God's sake to attend
each diligently to the work I set him, and to help me till such time
as I could finish the things I had in hand. I thought they might
soon be completed, and then I meant to return to Italy, being no
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longer able to put up with the rogueries of those Frenchmen; die
good King too, if he once grew angry, might bring me into mischief
for many of my acts in self-defence. I will describe who these
Italians were; the first, and the one I liked best, was Ascanio, from
Tagliacozzo in the kingdom of Naples; the second was Pagolo, a
Roman of such humble origin that he did not know his own father.
These were the two men who had been with me in Rome, and whom
I had taken with me on the journey. Another Roman had also come
on purpose to enter my service; he too bore the name of Pagolo, and
was the son of a poor nobleman of the family of the Macaroni;
he had small acquirements in our art, but was an excellent and
courageous swordsman. I had another from Ferrara called Bartolom-
meo Chioccia. There was also another from Florence named Pagolo
Micceri; his brother, nicknamed "II Gatta," was a clever clerk, but
had spent too much money in managing the property of Tommasco
Guadagni, a very wealthy merchant. This Gatta put in order for
me the books in which I wrote the accounts of his Most Christian
Majesty and my other employers. Now Pagolo Micceri, having
learned how to keep them from his brother, went on doing this work
for me in return for a liberal salary. He appeared, so far as I could
judge, to be a very honest lad, for I noticed him to be devout, and
when I heard him sometimes muttering psalms, and sometimes tell-
ing his beads, I reckoned much upon his feigned virtue.
Accordingly I called the fellow apart and said to him, "Pagolo,
my dearest brother, you know what a good place you have with me,
and how you had formerly nothing to depend on; besides, you are
a Florentine. I have also the greater confidence in you because I
observe that you are pious and religious, which is a thing that
pleases me. I beg you therefore to assist me, for I cannot put the
same trust in any of your companions: so then I shall ask you to
keep watch over two matters of the highest importance, which
might prove a source of much annoyance to me. In the first place,
I want you to guard my property from being stolen, and not touch
it yourself. In the next place, you know that poor young girl,
Caterina; I keep her principally for my art's sake, since I cannot
do without a model; but being a man also, I have used her for my
pleasures, and it is possible that she may bear me a child. Now I
do not want to maintain another man's bastards nor will I sit down
under such an insult. If any one in this house had the audacity to
attempt anything of the sort, and I were to become aware of it, I
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verily believe that I should kill both her and him. Accordingly,
dear brother, I entreat you to be my helper; should you notice any-
thing, tell it me at once; for I am sure to send her and her mother
and her fellow to the gallows. Be you the first upon your watch
against falling into this snare." The rascal made a sign of the cross
from his head to his feet and cried out: "O blessed Jesus! God pre-
serve me from ever thinking of such a thing! In die first place, I
am not given to those evil ways; in the next place, do you imagine
I am ignorant of your great benefits toward me?" When I heard
these words, which he uttered with all appearance of simplicity and
affection for me, I believed that matters stood precisely as he asserted.
XXIX
Two DAYS after this conversation, M. Mattio del Nazaro took the
occasion of some feast-day to invite me and my work-people to an
entertainment in a garden. 46 He was an Italian in the King's service,
and practised the same art as we did with remarkable ability. I got
myself in readiness, and told Pagolo that he might go abroad too
and amuse himself with us; the annoyances arising from that law-
suit being, as I judged, now settled down. The young man replied
in these words: "Upon my word, it would be a great mistake to
leave the house so unprotected. Only look how much of gold, silver,
and jewels you have here. Living as we do in a city of thieves, we
ought to be upon our guard by day and night. I will spend the time
in religious exercises, while I keep watch over the premises. Go then
with mind at rest to take your pleasure and divert your spirits. Some
other day another man will take my place as guardian here."
Thinking that I could go off with a quiet mind, I took Pagolo, As-
canio, and Chioccia to the garden, where we spent a large portion of
the day agreeably. Toward the midde of the afternoon, however,
when it began to draw toward sundown, a suspicion came into my
head, and I recollected the words which that traitor had spoken with
his feigned simplicity. So I mounted my horse, and with two servants
to attend me, returned to the castle, where I all but caught Pagolo
and that little wretch Caterina in flagrante. No sooner had I reached
the place, than that French bawd, her mother, screamed out:
"Pagolo! Caterina! here is the master!" When I saw the pair ad-
vancing, overcome with fright, their clothes in disorder, not know-
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ing what they said, nor, like people in a trance, where they were
going, it was only too easy to guess what they had been about. The
sight drowned reason in rage, and I drew my sword, resolved to
kill them both. The man took to his heels; the girl flung herself
upon her knees, and shrieked to Heaven for mercy. In my first
fury I wanted to strike at the male; but before I had the time to
catch him up, second thoughts arose which made me think it would
be best for me to drive them both away together. I had so many
acts of violence upon my hands, that if I killed him I could hardly
hope to save my life. I said then to Pagolo: "Had I seen with my
own eyes, scoundrel, what your behaviour and appearance force me
to believe, I should have run you with this sword here ten times
through the guts. Get out of my sight; and if you say a Paternoster,
let it be San Giuliano's." 47 Then I drove the whole lot forth, mother
and daughter, lamming into them, with fist and foot. They made
their minds up to have the law of me, and consulted a Norman advo-
cate, who advised them to declare that I had used the girl after
the Italian fashion; what this meant I need hardly explain. 48 The
man argued: "At the very least, when this Italian hears what you
are after, he will pay down several hundred ducats, knowing how
great the danger is, and how heavily that offence is punished in
France." Upon this they were agreed. The accusation was brought
against me, and I received a summons from the court.
XXX
THE MORE i SOUGHT for rest, the more I was annoyed with all sorts
of embarrassments. Being thus daily exposed to divers persecutions,
I pondered which of two courses I ought to take; whether to de-
camp and leave France to the devil, or else to fight this battle through
as I had done the rest, and see to what end God had made me. For
a long while I kept anxiously revolving the matter. At last I re-
solved to make off, dreading to tempt my evil fortune, lest this
should bring me to the gallows. My dispositions were all fixed; I
had made arrangements for putting away the property I could not
carry, and for charging the lighter articles, to the best of my ability,
upon myself and servants; yet it was with great and heavy reluctance
that I looked forward to such a departure.
I had shut myself up alone in a little study. My young men were
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advising me to fly; but I told them that it would be well for me to
meditate this step in solitude, although I very much inclined to their
opinion. Indeed, I reasoned that if I could escape imprisonment and
let the storm pass over, I should be able to explain matters to the
King by letter, setting forth the trap which had been laid to ruin
me by the malice of my enemies. And as I have said above, my mind
was made up to this point; when, just as I rose to act on the decision,
some power took me by the shoulder and turned me round, and
I heard a voice which cried with vehemence: "Benvenuto, do as
thou art wont, and fear not!" Then, on the instant, I changed the
whole course of my plans, and said to my Italians: "Take your
good arms and come with me; obey me to the letter; have no other
thought, for I am now determined to put in my appearance. If I
were to leave Paris, you would vanish the next day in smoke; so
do as I command, and follow me." They all began together with
one heart and voice to say: "Since we are here, and draw our liveli-
hood from him, it is our duty to go with him and bear him out so
long as we have life to execute what he proposes. He has hit the
mark better than we did in this matter; for on the instant when he
leaves the place, his enemies will send us to the devil. Let us keep
well in mind what great works we have begun here, and what vast
importance they possess; we should not know how to finish them
without him, and his enemies would say that he had taken flight
because he shrank before such undertakings." Many other things
bearing weightily upon the subject were said among them. But it
was the young Roman, Macaroni, who first put heart into the com-
pany; and he also raised recruits from the Germans and the French-
men, who felt well disposed toward me.
We were ten men, all counted. I set out, firmly resolved not to
let myself be taken and imprisoned alive. When we appeared be-
fore the judges for criminal affairs, I found Caterina and her mother
waiting; and on the moment of my arrival, the two women were
laughing with their advocate. I pushed my way in, and called boldly
for the judge, who was seated, blown out big and fat, upon a tri-
bunal high above the rest. On catching sight of me, he threatened
with his head, and spoke in a subdued voice: "Although your
name is Benvenuto, this time you are an ill-comer." I understood his
speech, and called out the second time: "Despatch my business
quickly. Tell me what I have come to do here." Then the judge
turned to Caterina, and said: "Caterina, relate all that happened be-
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tween you and Benvenuto." She answered that I had used her after
the Italian fashion. The judge turned to me and said: "You hear
what Caterina deposes, Benvenuto." I replied: "If I have consorted
with her after the Italian fashion, I have only done the same as you
folk of other nations do." He demurred: "She means that you im-
properly abused her." I retorted that, so far from being the Italian
fashion, it must be some French habit, seeing she knew all about
it, while I was ignorant; and I commanded her to explain precisely
how I had consorted with her. Then the impudent baggage entered
into plain and circumstantial details regarding all the filth she
lyingly accused me of. I made her repeat her deposition three times
in succession. When she had finished, I cried out with a loud voice:
"Lord judge, lieutenant of the Most Christian King, I call on you
for justice. Well I know that by the laws of his Most Christian
Majesty both agent and patient in this kind of crime are punished
with the stake. The woman confesses her guilt; I admit nothing
whatsoever of the sort with regard to her; her go-between of a
mother is here, who deserves to be burned for either one or the other
offence. Therefore I appeal to you for justice." These words I
repeated over and over again at the top of my voice, continually
calling out: "To the stake with her and her mother!" I also
threatened the judge that, if he did not send her to prison there
before me, I would go to the King at once, and tell him how his
lieutenant in criminal affairs of justice had wronged me. When they
heard what a tumult I was making, my adversaries lowered their
voices, but I lifted mine the more. The little hussy and her mother
fell to weeping, while I shouted to the judge: "Fire, fire! to the
stake with them!" The coward on the bench, finding that the matter
was not going as he intended, began to use soft words and excuse
the weakness of the female sex. Thereupon I felt that I had won the
victory in a nasty encounter; and, muttering threats between my
teeth, I took myself off, not without great inward satisfaction. In-
deed, I would gladly have paid five hundred crowns down to have
avoided that appearance in court. However, after escaping from the
tempest, I thanked God with all my heart, and returned in gladness
with my young men to the castle.
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XXXI
WHEN ADVERSE FORTUNE, or, if we prefer to call it, our malignant
planet, undertakes to persecute a man, it never lacks new ways of
injuring him. So now, when I thought I had emerged from this
tempestuous sea of troubles, and hoped my evil star would leave
me quiet for a moment, it began to set two schemes in motion against
me before I had recovered my breath from that great struggle.
Within three days two things happened, each of which brought my
life into extreme hazard. One of these occurred in this way: I went
to Fontainebleau to consult with the King; for he had written me a
letter saying he wanted me to stamp the coins of his whole realm,
and enclosing some little drawings to explain his wishes in the matter;
at the same time he left me free to execute them as I liked; upon
which I made new designs according to my own conception, and
according to the ideal of art. When I reached Fontainebleau, one
of the treasurers commissioned by the King to defray my expenses
(he was called Monsignor della Fa 40 ) addressed me in these words:
"Benvenuto, the painter Bologna has obtained commission from the
King to execute your great Colossus, and all the orders* previously
given as on your behalf have been transferred to him. 50 We are
all indignant; and it seems to us that that countryman of yours
has acted towards you in a most unwarrantable manner. The work
was assigned you on the strength of your models and studies. He is
robbing you of it, only through the favour of Madame d'Etampes;
and though several months have passed since he received the order,
he has not yet made any sign of commencing it." I answered in
surprise: "How is it possible that I should have heard nothing at
all about this?" He then informed me that the man had kept it very
dark, and had obtained the King's commission with great difficulty,
since his Majesty at first would not concede it; only the importunity
of Madame d'Etampes secured this favour for him.
When I felt how greatly and how wrongfully I had been betrayed,
and saw a work which I had gained with my great toil thus stolen
from me, I made my mind up for a serious stroke of business, and
marched off with my good sword at my side to find Bologna. 81
He was in his room, engaged in studies; after telling the servant
to introduce me, he greeted me with some of his Lombard com-
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pliments, and asked what good business had brought me hither. I
replied: "A most excellent business, and one of great importance."
He then sent for wine, and said: "Before we begin to talk, we must
drink together, for such is the French custom." I answered: "Messer
Francesco, you must know that the conversation we have to engage
in does not call for drinking at the commencement; after it is over,
perhaps we shall be glad to take a glass." Then I opened the matter
in this way: "All men who wish to pass for persons of worth allow
it to be seen that they are so by their actions; if they do the contrary,
they lose the name of honest men. I am aware that you knew the
King had commissioned me with that great Colossus; it had been
talked of these eighteen months past; yet neither you nor anybody
else came forward to speak a word about it. By my great labours
I made myself known to his Majesty, who approved of my models
and gave the work into my hands. During many months I have heard
nothing to the contrary; only this morning I was informed that you
have got hold of it, and have filched it from me. I earned it by the
talents I displayed, and you are robbing me of it merely by your
idle talking."
XXXII
To THIS SPEECH Bologna answered: "O Benvenuto! all men try to
push their affairs in every way they can. If this is the King's will,
what have you to say against it? You would only throw away your
time, because I have it now, and it is mine. Now tell me what you
choose, and I will listen to you." I replied: "I should like you to
know, Messer Francesco, that I could say much which would prove
irref ragably, and make you admit, that such ways of acting as you
have described and used are not in vogue among rational animals. I
will, however, come quickly to the point at issue; give close attention
to my meaning, because the affair is serious." He made as though he
would rise from the chair on which he was sitting, since he saw my
colour heightened and my features gready discomposed. I told him
that the time had not yet come for moving; he had better sit and
listen to me. Then I recommenced: "Messer Francesco, you know
that I first received the work, and that the time has long gone by
during which my right could be reasonably disputed by any one.
Now I tell you that I shall be satisfied if you will make a model, while
I make another in addition to the one I have already shown. Then
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we will take them without any clamour to our great King; and who-
soever in this way shall have gained the credit of the best design will
justly have deserved the commission. If it falls to you, I will dismiss
from my mind the memory of the great injury you have done me,
and will bless your hands, as being worthier than mine of so glorious
a performance. Let us abide by this agreement, and we shall be
friends; otherwise we must be enemies; and God, who always helps
the right, and I, who know how to assert it, will show you to what
extent you have done wrong." Messer Francesco answered: "The
work is mine, and since it has been given me, I do not choose to put
what is my own to hazard." To this I retorted: "Messer Francesco,
if you will not take the right course which is just and reasonable, I
will show you another which shall be like your own, that is to
say, ugly and disagreeable. I tell you plainly that if I ever hear that
you have spoken one single word about this work of mine, I will kill
you like a dog. We are neither in Rome, nor in Bologna, nor in
Florence; here one lives in quite a different fashion; if then it comes
to my ears that you talk about this to the King or anybody else, I
vow that I will kill you. Reflect upon the way you mean to take,
whether that for good which I have formerly described, or this
latter bad one I have just now set before you."
The man did not know what to say or do, and I was inclined to
cut the matter short upon the spot rather than to postpone action.
Bologna found no other words than these to utter: "If I act like a
man of honesty, I shall stand in no fear." I replied: "You have spoken
well, but if you act otherwise, you will have to fear, because the
affair is serious." Upon this I left him, and betook myself to the
King. With his Majesty I disputed some time about the fashion of
his coinage, a point upon which we were not of the same opinion;
his council, who were present, kept persuading him that the moneys
ought to be struck in the French style, as they had hitherto always
been done. I urged in reply that his Majesty had sent for me from
Italy in order that I might execute good work; if he now wanted
me to do the contrary, I could not bring myself to submit. So the
matter was postponed till another occasion, and I set off again at
once for Paris.
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XXXIII
I HAD BUT JUST DISMOUNTED f rom my horse, when one of those excel-
lent people who rejoice in mischief-making came to tell me that
Pagolo Micceri had taken a house for the little hussy Caterina and
her mother, and that he was always going there, and whenever he
mentioned me, used words of scorn to this effect: "Benvenutb set
the fox to watch the grapes, 52 and thought I would not eat them!
Now he is satisfied with going about and talking big, and thinks I am
afraid of him. But I have girt this sword and dagger to my side in
order to show him that my steel can cut as well as his, and that I too
am a Florentine, of the Micceri, a far better family than his CellinL"
The scoundrel who reported this poisonous gossip spoke it with such
good effect that I felt a fever in the instant swoop upon me; and
when I say fever, I mean fever, and no mere metaphor. The insane
passion which took possession of me might have been my death, had
I not resolved to give it vent as the occasion offered. I ordered the
Ferrarese workman, Chioccia, to come with me, and made a servant
follow with my horse. When we reached the house where that
worthless villain was, I found the door ajar, and entered. I noticed
that he carried sword and dagger, and was sitting on a big chest with
his arm round Caterina's neck; at the moment of my arrival, I could
hear that he and her mother were talking about me. Pushing the door
open, I drew my sword, and set the point of it at his throat, not
giving him the time to think whether he too carried steel. At the
same instant I cried out: "Vile coward! recommend your soul to
God, for you are a dead man." Without budging from his seat, he
called three times: "Mother, mother, help me!" Though I had come
there fully determined to take his life, half my fury ebbed away
when I heard this idiotic exclamation. I ought to add that I had told
Chioccia not to let the girl or her mother leave the house, since I
meant to deal with those trollops after I had disposed of their bully.
So I went on holding my sword at his throat, and now and then just
pricked him with the point, pouring out a torrent of terrific threats
at the same time. But when I found he did not stir a finger in his
own defence, I began to wonder what I should do next; my men-
acing attitude could not be kept up forever; so at last it came into
my head to make them marry, and complete my vengeance at a
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later period. Accordingly, I formed my resolution, and began: "Take
that ring, coward, from your finger, and marry her, that I may get
satisfaction from you afterwards according to your deserts." He re-
plied at once: "If only you do not kill me, I will do whatever you
command." "Then," said I, "put that ring upon her hand." When
the sword's point was withdrawn a few inches from his throat, he
wedded her with the ring. But I added: "This is not enough. I shall
send for two notaries, in order that the marriage may be ratified by
contract." Bidding Chioccia go for the lawyers, I turned to the girl
and her mother, and, using the French language, spoke as follows:
"Notaries and witnesses are coming; the first of you who blabs about
this affair will be killed upon the spot; nay, I will murder you all
three. So beware, and keep a quiet tongue in your heads." To him
I said in Italian: "If you offer any resistance to what I shall propose,
upon the slightest word you utter I will stab you till your guts run
out upon this floor." He answered: "Only promise not to kill me,
and I will do whatever you command." The notaries and witnesses
arrived; a contract, valid and in due form, was drawn up; then my
heat and fever left me. I paid the lawyers and took my departure.
On the following day Bologna came to Paris on purpose, and sent
for me through Mattio del Nazaro. I went to see him; and he met me
with a glad face, entreating me to regard him as a brother, and say-
ing that he would never speak about that work again, since he recog-
nised quite well that I was right.
XXXIV
IF i DID NOT CONFESS that in some of these episodes I acted wrongly,
die world might think I was not telling the truth about those in
which I say I acted rightly. Therefore I admit that it was a mistake
to inflict so singular a vengeance upon Pagolo Micceri. In truth, had
I believed him to be so utterly feeble, I should not have conceived
the notion of branding him with such infamy as I am going to
relate.
Not satisfied with having made him take a vicious drab to wife, I
completed my revenge by inviting her to sit to me as a model, and
dealing with her thus. I gave her thirty sous a day, paid in advance,
and a good meal, and obliged her to pose for me naked. Then I made
her serve my pleasure, out of spite against her husband, jeering at
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them both the While* Furthermore, I kept her for hours together in
position, greatly to her discomfort. This gave her as much annoy-
ance as it gave me pleasure; for she was beautifully made, and
brought me much credit as a model. At last, noticing that I did not
treat her with the same consideration as before her marriage, she
began to grumble and talk big in her French way about her husband,
who was now serving the Prior of Capua, a brother of Piero Strozzi. 58
On the first occasion when she did this, the mere mention of the fel-
low roused me to intolerable fury; still I bore it, greatly against the
grain, as well as I was able, reflecting that I could hardly find so suit-
able a subject for my art as she was. So I reasoned thus in my own
mind: "I am now taking two different kinds of revenge. In the first
place, she is married; and what I am doing to her husband is some-
thing far more serious than what he did to me, when she was only
a girl of loose life. If then I wreak my spite so fully upon him, while
upon her I inflict the discomfort of posing in such strange attitudes
for such a length of time which, beside the pleasure I derive, brings
me both profit and credit through my art what more can I desire?"
While I was turning over these calculations, the wretch redoubled
her insulting speeches, always prating big about her husband, till she
goaded me beyond the bounds of reason. Yielding myself up to blind
rage, I seized her by the hair, and dragged her up and down my
room, beating and kicking her till I was tired. There was no one
who could come to her assistance. When I had well pounded her
she swore that she would never visit me again. Then for the first
time I perceived that I had acted very wrongly; for I was losing
a grand model, who brought me honour through my art. Moreover,
when I saw her body all torn and bruised and swollen, I reflected
that, even if I persuaded her to return, I should have to put her
under medical treatment for at least a fortnight before I could make
use of her.
XXXV
WELL, TO RETURN to Caterina. I sent my old serving-woman, named
Ruberta, who had a most kindly disposition, to help her dress. She
brought food and drink to the miserable baggage; and after rubbing
a little bacon fat into her worst wounds, they ate what was left of
the meat together. When she had finished dressing, she went off
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blaspheming and cursing all Italians in the King's service, and so
returned with tears and murmurs to her home.
Assuredly, upon that first occasion, I felt I had done very wrong,
and Ruberta rebuked me after this fashion: "You are a cruel monster
to maltreat such a handsome girl so brutally." When I excused my
conduct by narrating all the tricks which she and her mother had
played off upon me under my own roof, Ruberta scoldingly replied
that that was nothing that was only French manners, and she was
sure there was not a husband in France without his horns. When I
heard this argument, I laughed aloud, and then told Ruberta to go
and see how Caterina was, since I should like to employ her again
while finishing the work I had on hand. The old woman took me
sharply up, saying that I had no savoir vivre: "Only wait till day-
break, and she will come of herself; whereas, if you send to ask after
her or visit her, she will give herself airs and keep away."
On the following morning Caterina came to our door, and knocked
so violently, that, being below, I ran to see whether it was a mad-
man or some member of the household. When I opened, the creature
laughed and fell upon my neck, embracing and kissing me, and
asked me if I was still angry with her. I said, "No!" Then she added:
"Let me have something good to break my fast on." So I supplied
her well with food, and partook of it at die same table in sign of
reconciliation. Afterwards I began to model from her, during which
occurred some amorous diversions; and at last, just at the same hour
as on the previous day, she irritated me to such a pitch that I gave
her the same drubbing. So we went on several days, repeating the old
round like clockwork. There was little or no variation in the inci-
dents.
Meanwhile, I completed my work in a style which did me the
greatest credit. Next I set about to cast it in bronze. This entailed
some difficulties, to relate which would be interesting from the point
of view of art; but since the whole history would occupy too much
space, I must omit it. Suffice it to say, that the figure came out
splendidly, and was as fine a specimen of foundry as had ever been
seen."
XXXVI
WHILE THIS WORK was going forward, I set aside certain hours of
the day for the salt-cellar, and certain others for the Jupiter. There
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were more men engaged upon the former than I had at my disposal
for the latter, so the salt-cellar was by this time completely finished
The King had now returned to Paris; and when I paid him my re-
spects, I took the piece with me. As I have already related, it was
oval in form, standing about two-thirds of a cubit, wrought of solid
gold, and worked entirely with the chisel. While speaking of the
model, I said before how I had represented Sea and Earth, seated,
with their legs interlaced, as we observe in the case of firths and
promontories; this attitude was therefore metaphorically appropri-
ate. The Sea carried a trident in his right hand, and in his left I put
a ship of delicate workmanship to hold the salt. Below him were his
four sea-horses, fashioned like our horses from the head to the front
hoofs; all the rest of their body, from the middle backwards, resem-
bled a fish, and the tails of these creatures were agreeably inter-
woven. Above this group the Sea sat throned in an attitude of pride
and dignity; around him were many kinds of fishes and other crea-
tures of the ocean. The water was represented with its waves, and
enamelled in the appropriate colour. I had portrayed earth under the
form of a very handsome woman, holding her horn of plenty, en-
tirely nude like the male figure; in her left hand I placed a little
temple of Ionic architecture, most delicately wrought, which was
meant to contain the pepper. Beneath her were the handsomest living
creatures which the earth produces; and the rocks were partly enam-
elled, partly left in gold. The whole piece reposed upon a base of
ebony, properly proportioned, but with a projecting cornice, upon
which I introduced four golden figures in rather more than half-
relief. They represented Night, Day, Twilight, and Dawn. I put,
moreover, into the same frieze four other figures, similar in size, and
intended for the four chief winds; these were executed, and in part
enamelled, with the most exquisite refinement. 55
When I exhibited this piece to his Majesty, he uttered a loud cry
of astonishment, and could not satiate his eyes with gazing at it.
Then he bade me take it back to my house, saying he would tell me
at the proper time what I should have to do with it. So I carried it
home, and sent at once to invite several of my best friends; we dined
gaily together, placing the salt-cellar in the middle of the table, and
thus we were the first to use it. After this, I went on working at my
Jupiter in silver, and also at the great vase I have already described,
which was richly decorated with a variety of ornaments and figures.
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XXXVII
AT THAT TIME Bologna, the painter, suggested to the King that it
would be well if his Majesty sent him to Rome, with letters of
recommendation, to the end that he might cast the foremost master-
pieces of antiquity, namely, the Laocoon, the Cleopatra, the Venus,
the Commodus, the Zingara, and the Apollo. 58 These, of a truth, are
by far the finest things in Rome. He told the King that when his
Majesty had once set eyes upon those marvellous works, he would
then, and not till then, be able to criticise the arts of design, since
everything which he had seen by us moderns was far removed from
the perfection of the ancients. The King accepted his proposal, and
gave him the introduction he required. Accordingly that beast went
off, and took his bad luck with him. Not having the force and cour-
age to contend with his own hands against me, he adopted the truly
Lombard device of depreciating my performances by becoming a
copyist of antiques. In its own proper place I shall relate how,
though he had these statues excellently cast, he obtained a result
quite contrary to his imagination.
I had now done forever with that disreputable Caterina, and the
unfortunate young man, her husband, had decamped from Paris.
Wanting then to finish off my Fontainebleau, which was already
cast in bronze, as well as to execute the two Victories which were
going to fill the angles above the lunette of the door, I engaged a
poor girl of the age of about fifteen. She was beautifully made and
of a brunette complexion. Being somewhat savage in her ways and
spare of speech, quick in movement, with a look of sullenness about
her eyes, I nicknamed her Scorzone; 57 her real name was Jeanne.
With her for model, I gave perfect finish to the bronze Fontaine-
bleau, and also to the two Victories.
Now this girl was a clean maid, and I got her with child. She
gave birth to a daughter on the jth of June, at thirteen hours of the
day, in 1544, when I had exactly reached the age of forty-four. I
named the infant Costanza; and M. Guido Guidi, the King's physi-
cian, and my most intimate friend, as I have previously related, held
her at die font. He was the only godfather; for it is customary in
France to have but one godfather and two godmothers. One of the
latter was Madame Maddalena, wife to M. Luigi Alamanni, a gentle-
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man of Florence and an accomplished poet. The other was the
wife of M. Ricciardo del Bene, our Florentine burgher, and a great
merchant in Paris; she was herself a French lady of distinguished
family. This was the first child I ever had, so far as I remember. I
settled money enough upon the girl for dowry to satisfy an aunt
of hers, under whose tutelage I placed her, and from that time
forwards I had nothing more to do with her.
XXXVIII
BY LABOURING INCESSANTLY I had now got my various works well
forward; the Jupiter was nearly finished, and the vase also; the door
began to reveal its beauties. At that time the King came to Paris; and
though I gave the right date of the year 1544 for my daughter's birth,
we were still in 1543; but an opportunity of mentioning my daughter
having arisen, I availed myself of it, so as not to interrupt the nar-
rative of more important things. Well, the King, as I have said, came
to Paris, and paid me a visit soon after his arrival. The magnificent
show of works brought well-nigh to completion was enough to
satisfy anybody's eyes; and indeed it gave that glorious monarch no
less contentment than the artist who had worked so hard upon them
desired. While inspecting these things, it came into his head that the
Cardinal of Ferrara had fulfilled none of his promises to me, either
as regarded a pension or anything else. Whispering with his Admiral,
he said that the Cardinal of Ferrara had behaved very badly in the
matter; and that he intended to make it up to me himself, because
he saw I was a man of few words, who in the twinkling of an eye
might decamp without complaining or asking leave.
On returning home, his Majesty, after dinner, told the Cardinal
to give orders to his treasurer of the Exchequer that he should pay
me at an early date seven thousand crowns of gold, in three or four
instalments, according to his own convenience, provided only that
he executed the commission faithfully. At the same time he repeated
words to this effect: "I gave Benvenuto into your charge, and you
have forgotten all about him." The Cardinal said that he would
punctually perform his Majesty's commands; but his own bad na-
ture made him wait till the King's fit of generosity was over. Mean-
while wars and rumours of wars were on the increase; it was the
moment when the Emperor with a huge army was marching upon
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Paris. 58 Seeing the realm of France to be in great need of money, the
Cardinal one day began to talk of me, and said: "Sacred Majesty,
acting for the best, I have not had that money given to Benvenuto.
First, it is solely wanted now for public uses. Secondly, so great a
donation would have exposed you to the risk of losing Benvenuto
altogether; for if he found himself a rich man, he might have in-
vested his money in Italy, and the moment some caprice took hold
of him, he would have decamped without hesitation. I therefore con-
sider that your Majesty's best course will be to present him with
something in your kingdom, if you want to keep him in your service
for any length of time." The King, being really in want of money,
approved of these arguments; nevertheless, like the noble soul he
was, and truly worthy of his royal station, he judged rightly that
the Cardinal had acted thus in order to curry favour rather than
from any clear prevision of distressed finances in so vast a realm.
XXXIX
As i HAVE JUST SAID, his Majesty affected to concur with the Cardinal,
but his own private mind was otherwise made up. Accordingly,
upon the day after his arrival, without solicitation upon my part, he
came of his own accord to my house. I went to meet him, and con-
ducted him through several rooms where divers works of art were
on view. Beginning with the less important, I pointed out a quantity
of things in bronze; and it was long since he had seen so many at
once. Then I took him to see the Jupiter in silver, now nearly com-
pleted, with all its splendid decorations. It so happened that a griev-
ous disappointment which he had suffered a few years earlier, made
him think this piece more admirable than it might perhaps have ap-
peared to any other man. The occasion to which I refer was this:
After the capture of Tunis, the Emperor passed through Paris with
the consent of his brother-in-law, King Francis, 80 who wanted to
present him with something worthy of so great a potentate. Having
this in view, he ordered a Hercules to be executed in silver, exactly
of the same size as my Jupiter. The King declared this Hercules to
be the ugliest work of art that he had ever seen, and spoke his
opinion plainly to the craftsmen of Paris. They vaunted themselves
to be the ablest craftsmen in the world for works of this kind, and
informed the King that nothing more perfect could possibly have
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
been produced in silver, insisting at the same time upon being paid
two thousand ducats for their filthy piece of work. This made the
King, when he beheld mine, affirm that the finish of its workman-
ship exceeded his highest expectations. Accordingly he made an
equitable judgment, and had my statue valued also at two thousand
ducats, saying: "I gave those other men no salary; Cellini, who gets
about a thousand crowns a year from me, can surely let me have
this masterpiece for two thousand crowns of gold, since he has his
salary into the bargain." Then I exhibited other things in gold and
silver, and a variety of models for new undertakings. At the last, just
when he was taking leave, I pointed out upon the lawn of the castle
that great giant, which roused him to higher astonishment than any
of the other things he had inspected. Turning to his Admiral, who
was called Monsignor Aniballe, 60 he said: "Since the Cardinal has
made him no provision, we must do so, and all the more because
the man himself is so slow at asking favours to cut it short, I mean
to have him well provided for; yes, these men who ask for nothing
feel that their masterpieces call aloud for recompense; therefore see
that he gets the first abbey that falls vacant worth two thousand
crowns a year. If this cannot be had in one benefice, let him have
two or three to that amount, for in his case it will come to the
same thing." As I was standing by, I could hear what the King said,
and thanked his Majesty at once for the donation, as though I were
already in possession. I told him that as soon as his orders were car-
ried into effect, I would work for his Majesty without other salary
or recompense of any kind until old age deprived me of the power
to labour, when I hoped to rest my tired body in peace, maintaining
myself with honour on that income, and always bearing in mind that
I had served so great a monarch as his Majesty. At the end of this
speech the King turned toward me with a lively gesture and a joy-
ous countenance, saying, "So let it then be done." After that he
departed, highly satisfied with what he had seen there.
XL
MADAME D'ETAMPES, when she heard how well my affairs were go-
ing, redoubled her spite against me, saying in her own heart: "It is
I who rule the world to-day, and a little fellow like that snaps his
fingers at me!" She put every iron into the fire which she could
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think of, in order to stir up mischief against me. Now a certain man
fell in her way, who enjoyed great fame as a distiller; he supplied
her with perfumed waters, which were excellent for the complexion,
and hitherto unknown in France. This fellow she introduced to the
King, who was much delighted by the processes for distilling which
he exhibited. While engaged in these experiments, the man begged
his Majesty to give him a tennis-court I had in my castle, together
with some little apartments which he said I did not use. The good
King, guessing who was at the bottom of the business, made no
answer; but Madame d'Etampes used those wiles with which women
know so well to work on men, and very easily succeeded in her en-
terprise; for having taken the King at a moment of amorous weak-
ness, to which he was much subject, she wheedled him into
conceding what she wanted.
The distiller came, accompanied by Treasurer Grolier, a very
great nobleman of France, who spoke Italian excellently, and when
he entered my castle, began to jest with me in that language. 61
Watching his opportunity, 62 he said: "In the King's name I put
this man here into possession of that tennis-court, together with the
lodgings that pertain to it." To this I answered: "The sacred King
is lord of all things here: so then you might have effected an en-
trance with more freedom: coining thus with notaries and people
of the court looks more like a fraud than the mandate of a power-
ful monarch. I assure you that, before I carry my complaints
before the King, I shall defend my right in the way his Majesty
gave me orders two days since to do. I shall fling the man whom you
have put upon me out of windows if I do not see a warrant under
the King's own hand and seal." After this speech the treasurer went
off threatening and grumbling, and I remained doing the same,
without, however, beginning the attack at once. Then I went to the
notaries who had put the fellow in possession. I was well acquainted
with them; and they gave me to understand that this was a formal
proceeding, done indeed at the King's orders, but which had not
any great significance; if I had offered some trifling opposition the
fellow would not have installed himself as he had done. The for-
malities were acts and customs of the court, which did not concern
obedience to the King; consequently, if I succeeded in ousting him,
I should have acted rightly, and should not incur any risk.
This hint was enough for me, and next morning I had recourse
to arms; and though the job cost me some trouble, I enjoyed k.
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Each day that followed, I made an attack with stones, pikes, and
arquebuses, firing, however, without ball; nevertheless, I inspired
such terror that no one dared to help my antagonist. Accordingly,
when I noticed one day that his defence was feeble, I entered the
house by force, and expelled the fellow, turning all his goods and
chattels into the street. Then I betook me to the King, and told him
that I had done precisely as his Majesty had ordered, by defending
myself against every one who sought to hinder me in his service.
The King laughed at the matter, and made me out new letters-
patent to secure me from further molestation. 68
XLI
IN THE MEANTIME I brought my silver Jupiter to completion, to-
gether with its gilded pedestal, which I placed upon a wooden plinth
that only showed a very little; upon the plinth I introduced four
little round balls of hard wood, more than half hidden in their
sockets, like the nut of a crossbow. They were so nicely arranged
that a child could push the statue forwards and backwards, or turn
it round with ease. Having arranged it thus to my mind, I went
with it to Fontainebleau, where the King was then residing.
At that time, Bologna, of whom I have already said so much, had
brought from Rome his statues, and had cast them very carefully in
bronze. I knew nothing about this, partly because Fontainebleau is
forty miles distant from Paris. On asking the King where he
wanted me to set up my Jupiter, Madame d'Etampes, who hap-
pened to be present, told him there was no place more appropriate
than his own handsome gallery. This was, as we should say in
Tuscany, a loggia, or, more exactly, a large lobby; it ought indeed
to be called a lobby, because what we mean by loggia is open at
one side. The hall was considerably longer than 100 paces, decorated,
and very rich with pictures from the hand of that admirable Rosso,
our Florentine master. Among the pictures were arranged a great
variety of sculptured works, partly in the round, and partly in
bas-relief. Their breadth was about twelve paces. Now Bologna
had brought all his antiques into this gallery, wrought with great
beauty in bronze, and had placed them in a handsome row upon
their pedestals; and they were, as I have said, the choicest of the
Roman antiquities. Into this same gallery I took my Jupiter; and
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when I saw that grand parade, so artfully planned, I said to myself:
"This is like running die gauntlet; 64 now may God assist me." I
placed the statue, and having arranged it as well as I was able, waited
for the coming of the King, The Jupiter was raising his thunder-
bolt with the right hand in the act to hurl it; his left hand held the
globe of the world. Among the flames of the thunderbolt I had
very cleverly introduced a torch of white wax. Now Madame
d'Etampes detained the King till nightfall, wishing to do one of
two mischiefs, either to prevent his coming, or else to spoil the effect
of my work by its being shown off after dark; but as God has
promised to those who trust in Him, it turned out exactly opposite to
her calculations; for when night came, I set fire to the torch, which,
standing higher than the head of Jupiter, shed light from above and
showed the statue far better than by daytime.
At length the King arrived; he Was attended by his Madame
d'Etampes, his son the Dauphin and the Dauphiness, together with
the King of Navarre his brother-in-law, Madame Marguerite his
daughter, 65 and several other great lords, who had been instructed
by Madame d'Etampes to speak against me. When the King ap-
peared, I made my prentice Ascanio push the Jupiter toward his
Majesty. As it moved smoothly forwards, my cunning in its turn
was amply rewarded, for this gentle motion made the figure seem
alive; the antiques were left in the background, and my work was
first to take the eye with pleasure. The King exclaimed at once:
"This is by far the finest thing that has ever been seen; and I, al-
though I am an amateur and judge of art, could never have con-
ceived the hundredth part of its beauty." The lords whose cue it
was to speak against me, now seemed as though they could not praise
my masterpiece enough. Madame d'Etampes said boldly: "One
would think you had no eyes! Don't you see all those fine bronzes
from the antique behind there? In those consist the real distinction
of this art, and not in that modern trumpery." Then the King ad-
vanced, and the others with him. After casting a glance at the
bronzes, which were not shown to advantage from the light being
below them, he exclaimed: "Whoever wanted to injure this man
has done him a great service; for the comparison of these admirable
statues demonstrates the immeasurable superiority of his work in
beauty and in art. Benvenuto deserves to be made much of, for his
performances do not merely rival, but surpass the antique." In reply
to this, Madame d'Etampes observed that my Jupiter would not
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make anything like so fine a show by daylight; besides, one had to
consider that I had put a veil upon my statue to conceal its faults.
I had indeed flung a gauze veil with elegance and delicacy over a
portion of my statue, with the view of augmenting its majesty. This,
when she had finished speaking, I lifted from beneath, uncovering
the handsome genital members of the god; then tore the veil to
pieces with vexation. She imagined I had disclosed those parts of
the statue to insult her. The King noticed how angry she was, while
I was trying to force some words out in my fury; so he wisely spoke,
in his own language, precisely as follows: "Benvenuto, I forbid you
to speak; hold your tongue, and you shall have a thousand times
more wealth than you desire." Not being allowed to speak, I writhed
my body in a rage; this made her grumble with redoubled spite;
and the King departed sooner than he would otherwise have done,
calling aloud, however, to encourage me: "I have brought from
Italy the greatest man who ever lived, endowed with all the talents/'
XLII
I LEFT THE JUPITER THERE, meaning to depart the next morning.
Before I took horse, one thousand crowns were paid me, partly for
my salary, and partly on account of moneys I had disbursed. Having
received this sum, I returned with a light heart and satisfied to
Paris. No sooner had I reached home and dined with merry cheer,
than I called for all my wardrobe, which included a great many suits
of silk, choice furs, and also very fine cloth stuffs. From these I
selected presents for my work-people, giving each something ac-
cording to his desert, down to the servant-girls and stableboys, in
order to encourage them to aid me heartily.
Being then refreshed in strength and spirits, I attacked the great
statue of Mars, which I had set up solidly upon a frame of well-
connected woodwork. 66 Over this there lay a crust of plaster, about
the eighth of a cubit in thickness, carefully modelled for the flesh
of the Colossus. Lastly, I prepared a great number of moulds in
separate pieces to compose the figure, intending to dovetail them
together in accordance with the rules of art; and this task involved
no difficulty.
I will not here omit to relate something which may serve to give
a notion of the size of this great work, and is at the same time highly
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comic. It must first be mentioned that I had forbidden all the men
who lived at my cost to bring light women into my house or any-
where within the castle precincts. Upon this point of discipline I was
extremely strict. Now my lad Ascanio loved a very handsome girl,
who returned his passion. One day she gave her mother the slip,
and came to see Ascanio at night. Finding that she would not take
her leave, and being driven to his wits' ends to conceal her, like a
person of resources, he hit at last upon the plan of installing her
inside the statue. There, in the head itself, he made her up a place
to sleep in; this lodging she occupied some time, and he used to bring
her forth at whiles with secrecy by night. I meanwhile having
brought this part of the Colossus almost to completion, left it alone,
and indulged my vanity a bit by exposing it to sight; it could, in-
deed, be seen by more than half Paris. The neighbours, therefore,
took to climbing their house-roofs, and crowds came on purpose
to enjoy the spectacle. Now there was a legend in the city that my
castle had from olden times been haunted by a spirit, though I never
noticed anything to confirm this belief; and folk in Paris called
it popularly by the name of Lemmonio Boreo. 07 The girl, while she
sojourned in the statue's head, could not prevent some of her move-
ments to and fro from being perceptible through its eye-holes; this
made stupid people say that the ghost had got into the body of the
figure, and was setting its eyes in motion, and its mouth, as though
it were about to talk. Many of them went away in terror; others,
more incredulous, came to observe the phenomenon, and when they
were unable to deny the flashing of the statue's eyes, they too de-
clared their credence in a spirit not guessing that there was a spirit
there, and sound young flesh to boot.
XLIII
ALL THIS WHILE I was engaged in putting my door together, with
its several appurtenances. As it is no part of my purpose to include
in this autobiography such things as annalists record, I have omitted
die coining of the Emperor with his great host, and the King's mus-
tering of his whole army. 68 At the time when these events took
place, his Majesty sought my advice with regard to the instantaneous
fortification of Paris. He came on purpose to my house, and took
me all round the city; and when he found that I was prepared to
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fortify the town with expedition on a sound plan, he gave express
orders that all my suggestions should be carried out. His Admiral
was directed to command the citizens to obey me under pain of his
displeasure.
Now the Admiral had been appointed through Madame d'Etampes'
influence rather than from any proof of his ability, for he was a man
of little talent. He bore the name of M. d'Annebault, which in our
tongue is Monsignor d'Aniballe; but the French pronounced it so
that they usually made it sound like Monsignore Asino Bue. 69 This
animal then referred to Madame d'Etampes for advice upon the
matter, and she ordered him to summon Girolamo Bellarmato with-
out loss of time. 70 He was an engineer from Siena, at that time in
Dieppe, which is rather more than a day's journey distant from the
capital. He came at once, and set the work of fortification going
on a very tedious method, which made me throw the job up. If
the Emperor had pushed forward at this time, he might easily have
taken Paris. People indeed said that, when a treaty of peace was
afterwards concluded, Madame d'Etampes, who took more part in
it than anybody else, betrayed the King. 71 I shall pass this matter
over without further words, since it has nothing to do with the
plan of my memoirs. Meanwhile, I worked diligently at the door,
and finished the vase, together with two others of middling size,
which I made of my own silver. At the end of those great troubles,
the King came to take his ease awhile in Paris.
That accursed woman seemed born to be the ruin of the world.
I ought therefore to think myself of some account, seeing she held
me for her mortal enemy. Happening to speak one day with the
good King about my matters, she abused me to such an extent that
he swore, in order to appease her, he would take no more heed of me
thenceforward than if he had never set eyes upon my face. These
words were immediately brought me by a page of Cardinal Ferrara,
called II Villa, who said he had heard the King utter them. I was
.infuriated to such a pitch that I dashed my tools across the room
and all the things I was at work on, made my arrangements to quit
France, and went upon the spot to find the King. When he had
dined, I was shown into a room where I found his Majesty in the
company of a very few persons. After I had paid him the respects
due to kings, he bowed his head with a gracious smile. This revived
hope in me; so I drew nearer to his Majesty, for they were showing
him some things in my own line of art; and after we had talked
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
awhile about such matters, he asked if I had anything worth see-
ing at my house, and next inquired when I should like him to come.
I replied that I had some pieces ready to show his Majesty, if he
pleased, at once. He told me to go home and he would come im-
mediately.
XLIV
I WENT ACCORDINGLY, and waited for the good King's visit, who, it
seems, had gone meanwhile to take leave of Madame d'Etampes. She
asked whither he was bound, adding that she would accompany
him; but when he informed her, she told him that she would not go,
and begged him as a special favour not to go himself that day. She
had to return to the charge more than twice before she shook the
King's determination; however, he did not come to visit me that day.
Next morning I went to his Majesty at the same hour; and no sooner
had he caught sight of me, than he swore it was his intention to come
to me upon the spot. Going then, according to his wont, to take
leave of his dear Madame d'Etampes, this lady saw that all her influ-
ence had not been able to divert him from his purpose; so she began
with that biting tongue of hers to say the worst of me that could be
insinuated against a deadly enemy of this most worthy crown of
France. The good King appeased her by replying that the sole object
of his visit was to administer such a scolding as should make me
tremble in my shoes. This he swore to do upon his honour. Then he
came to my house, and I conducted him through certain rooms upon
the basement, where I had put the whole of my great door together.
Upon beholding it, the King was struck with stupefaction, and quite
lost his cue for reprimanding me, as he had promised Madame
d'Etampes. Still he did not choose to go away without finding. some
opportunity for scolding; so he began in this wise: "There is one
most important matter, Benvenuto, which men of your sort, though
full of talent, ought always to bear in mind; it is that you cannot
bring your great gifts to light by your own Strength alone; you
show your greatness only through the opportunities we give you.
Now you ought to be a little more submissive, not so arrogant and
headstrong. I remember that I gave you express orders to make me
twelve silver statues; and this was all I wanted. You have chosen to
execute a salt-cellar, and vases and busts and doors, and a heap of
other things, which quite confound me, when I consider how you
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
have neglected my wishes and worked for the fulfilment of your
own. If you mean to go on in this way, I shall presently let you
understand what is my own method of procedure when I choose to
have things done in my own way. I tell you, therefore, plainly: do
your utmost to obey my commands; for if you stick to your own
fancies, you will run your head against a wall." While he was utter-
ing these words, his lords in waiting hung upon the King's lips, see-
ing him shake his head, frown, and gesticulate, now with one hand
and now with the other. The whole company of attendants, there-
fore, quaked with fear for me; but I stood firm, and let no breath
of fear pass over me.
XLV
WHEN HE HAD wound up this sermon, agreed upon beforehand with
his darling Madame d'Etampes, I bent one leg upon the ground, and
kissed his coat above the knee. Then I began my speech as follows:
"Sacred Majesty, I admit that all that you have said is true. Only, in re-
ply, I protest that my heart has ever been, by day and night, with all
my vital forces, bent on serving you and executing your commands.
If it appears to your Majesty that my actions contradict these words,
let your Majesty be sure that Benvenuto was not at fault, but rather
possibly my evil fate or adverse fortune, which has made me un-
worthy to serve the most admirable prince who ever blessed this
earth. Therefore I crave your pardon. I was under the impression,
however, that your Majesty had given me silver for one statue only;
having no more at my disposal, I could not execute others; so, with
the surplus which remained for use, I made this vase, to show your
Majesty the grand style of the ancients. Perhaps you never have seen
anything of the sort before. As for the salt-cellar, I thought, if my
memory does not betray me, that your Majesty on one occasion
ordered me to make it of your own accord. The conversation falling
upon something of the kind which had been brought for your in-
spection, I showed you a model made by me in Italy; you, following
the impulse of your own mind only, had a thousand golden ducats
told out for me to execute the piece withal, thanking me in addition
for my hint; and what is more, I seem to remember that you com-
mended me highly when it was completed. As regards the door, it
was my impression that, after we had chanced to speak about it at
some time or other, your Majesty gave orders to your chief secre-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
tary, M. Villerois, from whom the order passed to M. de Marmagnc
and M. de la Fa, to this effect, that all these gentlemen should keep
me going at my work, and see that I obtained the necessary funds.
Without such commission I should certainly not have been able to
advance so great an undertaking on my own resources. As for the
bronze heads, the pedestal of Jupiter and other such-like things, I
will begin by saying that I cast those heads upon my own account,
in order to become acquainted with French clays, of which, as a
foreigner, I had no previous knowledge whatsoever. Unless I had
made the experiment, I could not have set about casting those large
works. Now, touching the pedestals, I have to say that I made them
because I judged them necessary to the statues. Consequently, in all
that I have done, I meant to act for the best, and at no point to
swerve from your Majesty's expressed wishes. It is indeed true that
I set that huge Colossus up to satisfy my own desire, paying for it
from my own purse, even to the point which it has reached, because
I thought that, you being the great king you are, and I the trifling
artist that I am, it was my duty to erect for your glory and my own
a statue, the like of which the ancients never saw. Now, at the last,
having been taught that God is not inclined to make me worthy
of so glorious a service, I beseech your Majesty, instead of the noble
recompense you had in mind to give me for my labours, bestow
upon me only one small trifle of your favour, and therewith the
leave to quit your kingdom. At this instant, if you condescend to
my request, I shall return to Italy, always thanking God and your
Majesty for the happy hours which I have passed in serving you."
XLVI
THE KING stretched forth his own hands and raised me very gra-
ciously. Then he told me that I ought to continue in his service,
and that all that I had done was right and pleasing to him. Turning
to the lords in his company, he spoke these words precisely: "I verily
believe that a finer door could not be made for Paradise itself."
When he had ceased speaking, although his speech had been entirely
in my favour, I again thanked him respectfully, repeating, however,
my request for leave to travel; for the heat of my indignation had
not yet cooled down. His Majesty, feeling that I set too little store
upon his unwonted and extraordinary condescension, commanded
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
me with a great and terrible voice to hold my tongue, unless I
wanted to incur his wrath; afterwards he added that he would drown
me in gold, and that he gave me the leave I asked; and over and
above the works he had commissioned, 12 he was very well satisfied
with what I had done on my own account in the interval; I should
never henceforth have any quarrels with him, because he knew my
character; and for my part, I too ought to study the temper of his
Majesty, as my duty required. I answered that I thanked God and
his Majesty for everything; then I asked him to come and see how
far I had advanced the great Colossus. So he came to my house, and
I had the statue uncovered; he admired it extremely, and gave orders
to his secretary to pay me all the money I had spent upon it, be the
sum what it might, provided I wrote the bill out in my own hand.
Then he departed, saying: "Adieu, won awn? which is a phrase not
often used by kings.
XLVII
AFTER RETURNING to his palace, he called to mind the words I had
spoken in our previous interview, some of which were so excessively
humble, and others so proud and haughty, that they caused him no
small irritation. He repeated a few of them in the presence of
Madame d'Etampes and Monsignor di San Polo, a great baron of
France. 78 This man had always professed muoh friendship for me in
the past, and certainly, on that occasion, he showed his good-will,
after the French fashion, with great cleverness. It happened thus:
the King in the course of a long conversation complained that the
Cardinal of Ferrara, to whose care he had entrusted me, never gave
a thought to my affairs; so far as he was concerned, I might have
decamped from the realm; therefore he must certainly arrange for
committing me to some one who would appreciate me better, be-
cause he did not want to run a further risk of losing me. At these
words Monsignor de Saint Paul expressed his willingness to under-
take the charge, saying that if the King appointed him my guardian,
he would act so that I should never have the chance to leave the
kingdom. The King replied that he was very well satisfied, if only
Saint Paul would explain the way in which he meant to manage me.
Madame sat by with an air of sullen irritation, and Saint Paul stood
on his dignity, declining to answer the King's question. When the
King repeated it, he said, to curry favour with Madame d'Etampes:
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
"I would hang that Benvenuto of yours by the neck, and thus you
would keep him forever in your kingdom." She broke into a fit of
laughter, protesting that I richly deserved it. The King, to keep
them company, began to laugh, and said he had no objection to
Saint Paul hanging me, if he could first produce my equal in the
arts; and although I had not earned such a fate, he gave him full
liberty and license. In this way that day ended, and I came off safe
and sound, for which may God be praised and thanked.
XLVIII
THE KING had now made peace with the Emperor, but not with the
English, and these devils were keeping us in constant agitation. 74
His Majesty had therefore other things than pleasure to attend to.
He ordered Piero Strozzi to go with ships of war into the English
waters; but this was a very difficult undertaking, even for that great
commander, without a paragon at his times in the art of war, and
also without a paragon in his misfortunes. Several months passed
without my receiving money or commissions; accordingly, I dis-
missed my work-people with the exception of the two Italians,
whom I set to making two big vases out of my own silver; for these
men could not work in bronze. After they had finished these, I took
them to a city which belonged to the Queen of Navarre; it is called
Argentana, and is distant several days' journey from Paris. 75 On
arriving at this place, I found that the King was indisposed; and the
Cardinal of Ferrara told his Majesty that I was come. He made no
answer, which obliged me to stay several days kicking my heels. Of
a truth, I never was more uncomfortable in my life; but at last I pre-
sented myself one evening and offered the two vases for the King's
inspection. He was excessively delighted, and when I saw him in
good humour, I begged his Majesty to grant me the favour of per-
mitting me to travel into Italy; I would leave the seven months of
my salary which were due, and his Majesty might condescend to
pay me when I required money for my return journey. I entreated
him to grant this petition, seeing that the times were more for fight-
ing than for making statues; moreover, his Majesty had allowed a
similar license to Bologna the painter, wherefore I humbly begged
him to concede the same to me. While I was uttering these words
the King kept gazing intently on the vases, and from time to time
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
shot a terrible glance at me; nevertheless, I went on praying to the
best of my ability that he would favour my petition. All of a sudden
he rose angrily from his seat, and said to me in Italian: "Benvenuto,
you are a great fool. Take these vases back to Paris, for I want to
have them gilt." Without making any other answer he then departed.
I went up to the Cardinal of Ferrara, who was present, and be-
sought him, since he had already conferred upon me the great benefit
of freeing me from prison in Rome, with many others besides, to do
me this one favour more of procuring for me leave to travel into
Italy. He answered that he should be very glad to do his best to
gratify me in this matter; I might leave it without farther thought
to him, and even if I chose, might set off at once, because he would
act for the best in my interest with the King. I told the Cardinal that
since I was aware his Majesty had put me under the protection of his
most reverend lordship, if he gave me leave, I felt ready to depart,
and promised to return upon the smallest hint from his reverence.
The Cardinal then bade me go back to Paris and wait there eight
days, during which time he would procure the King's license for me;
if his Majesty refused to let me go, he would without fail inform
me; but if I received no letters, that would be a sign that I might
set off with an easy mind.
XLIX
I OBEYED THE CARDINAL, and returned to Paris, where I made excellent
cases for my three silver vases. After the lapse of twenty days, I
began my preparations, and packed the three vases upon a mule. This
animal had been lent me for the journey to Lyons by the Bishop of
Pavia, who was now once more installed in my castle.
Then I departed in my evil hour, together with Signor Ippolito
Gonzaga, at that time in the pay of the King, and also in the service
of Count Galeotto della Mirandola. Some other gentlemen of the
said count went with us, as well as Lionardo Tedaldi, our fellow-
citizen of Florence.
I made Ascanio and Pagolo guardians of my castle and all my
property, including two little vases which were only just begun;
those I left behind in order that the two young men might not be
idle. I had lived very handsomely in Paris, and therefore there was a
large amount of costly household furniture: the whole value of these
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI,
effects exceeded 1500 crowns. I bade Ascanio remember what great
benefits I had bestowed upon him, and that up to the present he had
been a mere thoughtless lad; the time was now come for him to
show the prudence of a man; therefore I thought fit to leave him
in the custody of all my goods, as also of my honour. If he had the
least thing to complain of from those brutes of Frenchmen, he was
to let me hear at once, because I would take post and fly from any
place in which I found myself, not only to discharge the great
obligations under which I lay to that good King, but also to
defend my honour. Ascanio replied with the tears of a thief and
hypocrite: "I have never known a father better than you are, and
all things which a good son is bound to perform for a good father
will I ever do for you." So then I took my departure, attended by a
servant and a little French lad.
It was just past noon, when some of the King's treasurers, by no
means friends of mine, made a visit to my castle. The rascally fellows
began by saying that I had gone off with the King's silver, and told
Messer Guido and the Bishop of Pavia to send at once off after his
Majesty's vases; if not, they would themselves despatch a messenger
to get them back, and do me some great mischief. The Bishop and
Messer Guido were much more frightened than was necessary; so
they sent that traitor Ascanio by the post off on the spot. He made
his appearance before me about midnight. I had not been able to
sleep, and kept revolving sad thoughts to the following effect: "In
whose hands have I left my property, my castle? Oh, what a fate
is this of mine, which forces me to take this journey! May God
grant only that the Cardinal is not of one mind with Madame
d'Etampes, who has nothing else so much at heart as to make me
lose the grace of that good King."
WHILE i WAS THUS dismally debating with myself, I heard Ascanio
calling me. On the instant I jumped out of bed, and asked if he
brought good or evil tidings. The knave answered: "They are good
news I bring; but you must only send back those three vases, for
the rascally treasurers keep shouting, 'Stop thief!' So the Bishop and
Messer Guido say that you must absolutely send them back. For the
rest you need have no anxiety, but may pursue your journey with
[320]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
a light heart." I handed over the vases immediately, two of them
being my own property, together with the silver and much else be-
sides. 76 I had meant to take them to the Cardinal of Ferrara's abbey
at Lyons; for though people accused me of wanting to carry them
into Italy, everybody knows quite well that it is impossible to export
money, gold, or silver from France without special license. Consider,
therefore, whether I could have crossed the frontier with those three
great vases, which, together with their cases, were a whole mule's
burden! It is certainly true that, since these articles were of great
value and the highest beauty, I felt uneasiness in case the King should
die, and I had lately left him in a very bad state of health; therefore
I said to myself: "If such an accident should happen, having these
things in the keeping of the Cardinal, I shall not lose them."
Well, to cut the story short, I sent back the mule with the vases,
and other things of importance; then, upon the following morning,
I travelled forward with the company I have already mentioned, nor
could I, through the whole journey, refrain from sighing and weep-
ing. Sometimes, however, I consoled myself with God by saying:
"Lord God, before whose eyes the truth lies open! Thou knowest
that my object in this journey is only to carry alms to six poor
miserable virgins and their mother, my own sister. They have indeed
their father, but he is very old, and gains nothing by his trade; I
fear, therefore, lest they might too easily take to a bad course of life.
Since, then, I am performing a true act of piety, I look to Thy
Majesty for aid and counsel." This was all the recreation I enjoyed
upon my forward journey.
We were one day distant from Lyons, and it was close upon the
hour of twenty-two, when the heavens began to thunder with sharp
rattling claps, although the sky was quite clear at the time. 77 1 was
riding a crossbow shot before my comrades. After the thunder the
heavens made a noise so great and horrible that I thought the last
day had come; so I reined in for a moment, while a shower of hail
began to fall without a drop of water. At first the hail was somewhat
larger than pellets from a popgun, and when these struck me, they
hurt considerably. Little by little it increased in size, until the stones
might be compared to balls from a crossbow. My horse became
restive with fright; so I wheeled round, and returned at a gallop to
where I found my comrades taking refuge in a fir-wood. The hail
now grew to the size of big lemons. I began to sing a Miserere; and
while I was devoutly uttering this psalm to God, there fell a stone
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so huge that it smashed the thick branch of the pine under which
I had retired for safety. Another of the hailstones hit my horse upon
the head, and almost stunned him; one struck me also, but not
directly, else it would have killed me. In like manner, poor old
Lionardo Tedaldi, who like me was kneeling on the ground, received
so shrewd a blow that he fell grovelling upon all fours. When I saw
that the fir bough offered no protection, and that I ought to act as
well as to intone my Misereres, I began at once to wrap my mantle
round my head. At the same time I cried to Lionardo, who was
shrieking for succour, "Jesus! Jesus!" that Jesus would help him
if he helped himself. I had more trouble in looking after this man's
safety than my own. The storm raged for some while, but at last
it stopped; and we, who were pounded black and blue, scrambled
as well as we could upon our horses. Pursuing the way to our lodg-
ing for the night, we showed our scratches and bruises to each other;
but about a mile farther on we came upon a scene of devastation
which surpassed what we had suffered, and defies description. All
the trees were stripped of their leaves and shattered; the beasts in
the field lay dead; many of the herdsmen had also been killed; we
observed large quantities of hailstones which could not have been
grasped with two hands. Feeling then that we had come well out
of a great peril, we acknowledged that our prayers to God and
Misereres had helped us more than we could have helped ourselves.
Returning thanks to God, therefore, we entered Lyons in the course
of the next day, and tarried there eight days. At the end of this time,
being refreshed in strength and spirits, we resumed our journey, and
passed the mountains without mishap. On the other side I bought a
little pony, because the baggage which I carried had somewhat over-
tired my horses.
LI
AFTER WE HAD BEEN one day in Italy, the Count Galeotto della
Mirandola joined us. He was travelling by post; and stopping where
we were, he told me that I had done wrong to leave France; I ought
not to journey forwards, for, if I returned at once, my affairs would
be more prosperous than ever. On the other hand, if I persisted in my
course, I was giving the game up to my enemies, and furnishing
them with opportunities to do me mischief. By returning I might
put a stop to their intrigues; and those in whom I placed the most
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
confidence were just the men who played most traitorously. He
would not say more than that he knew very well all about it; and,
indeed, the Cardinal of Ferrara had now conspired with the two
rogues I left in charge of all my business. Having repeated over and
over again that I ought absolutely to turn back, he went onward
with the post, while I, being influenced by my companions, could
not make my mind up to return. My heart was sorely torn asunder,
at one moment by the desire to reach Florence as quickly as I could,
and at another by the conviction that I ought to regain France. At
last, in order to end the fever of this irresolution, I determined to
take the post for Florence. I could not make arrangements with the
first postmaster, but persisted in my purpose to press forward and
endure an anxious life at Florence. 78
I parted company with Signor Ippolito Gonzaga, who took the
route for Mirandola, while I diverged upon the road to Parma and
Piacenza. In the latter city I met Duke Pier Luigi upon the street,
who stared me in the face, and recognised me. 79 Since I knew him
to have been the sole cause of my imprisonment in the castle of
S. Angelo, the sight of him made my blood boil. Yet being unable
to escape from the man, I decided to pay him my respects, and
arrived just after he had risen from table in the company of the
Landi, who afterwards murdered him. On my appearance he re-
ceived me with unbounded marks of esteem and affection, among
which he took occasion to remark to the gentlemen present that I
was the first artist of the world in my own line, and that I had been
for a long while in prison at Rome. Then he turned to me and said:
"My Benvenuto, I was deeply grieved for your misfortune, and
knew well that you were innocent, but could not do anything to
help you. In short, it was my father, who chose to gratify some
enemies of yours, from whom, moreover, he heard that you had
spoken ill of him. I am convinced this was not true, and indeed I
was heartily sorry for your troubles." These words he kept piling
up and repeating until he seemed to be begging my pardon. After-
wards he inquired about the work I had been doing for his Most
Christian Majesty; and on my furnishing him with details, he listened
as attentively and graciously as possible. Then he asked if I had
a mind to serve him. To this I replied that my honour would not
allow me to do so; but that if I had completed those extensive works
begun for the King, I should be disposed to quit any great prince
merely to enter his Excellency's service.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Hereby it may be seen how the power and goodness of God never
leave unpunished any sort or quality of men who act unjustly toward
the innocent. This man did what was equivalent to begging my par-
don in the presence of those very persons who subsequently took
revenge on him for me and many others whom he had massacred.
Let then no prince, however great he be, laugh at God's justice, in
the way that many whom I know are doing, and who have cruelly
maltreated me, as I shall relate at the proper time. I do not write
these things in any worldly spirit of boasting, but only to return
thanks to God, my deliverer in so many trials. In those too which
daily assail me, I always carry my complaint to Him, and call on
Him to be my defender. On all occasions, after I have done my best
to aid myself, if I lose courage and my feeble forces fail, then is the
great might of God manifested, which descends unexpectedly on
those who wrongfully injure their neighbours, or neglect the grave
and honourable charge they have received from Him.
LII
WHEN i RETURNED to my inn, I found that the Duke had sent me
abundance to eat and drink of very excellent quality. I made a
hearty meal, then mounted and rode toward Florence. There I found
my sister with six daughters, the eldest of whom was marriageable
and the youngest still at nurse. Her husband, by reason of divers
circumstances in the city, had lost employment from his trade. I had
sent gems and French jewellery, more than a year earlier, to the
amount of about two thousand ducats, and now brought with me
the same wares to the value of about one thousand crowns. I dis-
covered that, whereas I made them an allowance of four golden
crowns a month, they always drew considerable sums from the cur-
rent sale of these articles. My brother-in-law was such an honest
fellow, that, fearing to give me cause for anger, he had pawned
nearly everything he possessed, and was devoured by interest, in his
anxiety to leave my moneys untouched. It seems that my allowance,
made by way of charity, did not suffice for the needs of the family.
When then I found him so honest in his dealings, I felt inclined to
raise his pension; and it was my intention, before leaving Florence,
to make some arrangement for all of his daughters. 80
[3*4]
2*zL
JT
LIU
THE DUKE OF FLORENCE at this time, which was the month of August
1545, had retired to Poggio a Cajano, ten miles distant from Flor-
ence. Thither then I went to pay him my respects, with the sole
object of acting as duty required, first because I was a Florentine,
and next because my forefathers had always been adherents of the
Medicean party, and I yielded to none of them in affection for this*
Duke Cosimo. As I have said, then, I rode to Poggio with the sole
object of paying my respects, and with no intention of accepting
[3*51
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service under him, as God, who does all things well, did then appoint
for me.
When I was introduced, the Duke received me very kindly; then
he and the Duchess put questions concerning the works which I had
executed for the King. 81 I answered willingly and in detail. After
listening to my story, he answered that he had heard as much, and
that I spoke the truth. Then he assumed a tone of sympathy, and
added: "How small a recompense for such great and noble master-
pieces! Friend Benvenuto, if you feel inclined to execute something
for me too, I am ready to pay you far better than that King of yours
has done, for whom your excellent nature prompts you to speak so
gratefully." When I understood his drift, I described the deep obli-
gations under which I lay to his Majesty, who first obtained my
liberation from that iniquitous prison, and afterwards supplied me
with the means of carrying out more admirable works than any
artist of my quality had ever had the chance to do. While I was thus
speaking, my lord the Duke writhed on his chair, and seemed as
though he could not bear to hear me to the end. Then, when I had
concluded, he rejoined: "If you are disposed to work for me, I will
treat you in a way that will astonish you, provided the fruits of your
labours give me satisfaction, of which I have no doubt." I, poor un-
happy mortal, burning with desire to show the noble school 82 of
Florence that, after leaving her in youth, I had practised other
branches of the art than she imagined, gave answer to the Duke that
I would willingly erect for him in marble or in bronze a mighty
statue on his fine piazza. He replied that, for a first essay, he should
like me to produce a Perseus; he had long set his heart on having
such a monument, and he begged me to begin a model for the same. 88
I very gladly set myself to the task, and in a few weeks I finished
my model, which was about a cubit high, in yellow wax and very
delicately finished in all its details. I had made it with the most
thorough study and art. 84
The Duke returned to Florence, but several days passed before I
had an opportunity of showing my model. It seemed indeed as
though he had never set eyes on me or spoken with me, and this
caused me to augur ill of my future dealings with his Excellency.
Later on, however, one day after dinner, I took it to his wardrobe,
where he came to inspect it with the Duchess and a few gentlemen
of the court. No sooner had he seen it than he expressed much
pleasure, and extolled it to the skies; wherefrom I gathered some
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hope that he might really be a connoisseur of art. After having well
considered it for some time, always with greater satisfaction, he
began as follows: "If you could only execute this little model, Ben-
venuto, with the same perfection on a large scale, it would be the
finest piece in the piazza." I replied: "Most excellent my lord, upon
the piazza are now standing works by the great Donatello and the
incomparable Michel Angelo, the two greatest men who have ever
lived since the days of the ancients. 85 But since your Excellency
encourages my model with such praise, I feel the heart to execute
it at least thrice as well in bronze." 86 No slight dispute arose upon
this declaration; the Duke protesting that he understood these mat-
ters perfectly, and was quite aware what could be done. I rejoined
that my achievements would resolve his dubitations and debates; I
was absolutely sure of being able to perform far more than I had
promised for his Excellency, but that he must give me means for
carrying my work out, else I could not fulfil my undertaking. In
return for this his Excellency bade me formulate my demands in a
petition, detailing all my requirements; he would see them liberally
attended to.
It is certain that if I had been cunning enough to secure by con-
tract all I wanted for my work, I should not have incurred the great
troubles which came upon me through my own fault. But he showed
the strongest desire to have the work done, and the most perfect
willingness to arrange preliminaries. I therefore, not discerning that
he was more a merchant than a duke, dealt very frankly with his
Excellency, just as if I had to do with a prince, and not with a com-
mercial man. I sent in my petition, to which he replied in large and
ample terms. The memorandum ran as follows: "Most rare and excel-
lent my patron, petitions of any validity and compacts between us
of any value do not rest upon words or writings; the whole point is
that I should succeed in my work according to my promise; and if
I so succeed, I feel convinced that your most illustrious Excellency
will very well remember what you have engaged to do for me." This
language so charmed the Duke both with my ways of acting and of
speaking that he and the Duchess began to treat me with extraordi-
nary marks of favour.
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LIV
BEING NOW INFLAMED with a great desire to begin working, I told
his Excellency that I had need of a house where I could install
myself and erect furnaces, in order to commence operations in clay
and bronze, and also, according to their separate requirements, in
gold and silver. I knew that he was well aware how thoroughly I
could serve him in those several branches, and I required some
dwelling fitted for my business. In order that his Excellency might
perceive how earnestly I wished to work for him, I had already
chosen a convenient house, in a quarter much to my liking. 87 As
I did not want to trench upon his Excellency for money or anything
of that sort, I had brought with me from France two jewels, with
which I begged him to purchase me the house, and to keep them
until I earned it with my labour. These jewels were excellently exe-
cuted by my workmen, after my own designs. When he had in-
spected them with minute attention, he uttered these spirited words,
which clothed my soul with a false hope: "Take back your jewels,
Benvenuto! I want you, and not them; you shall have your house
free of charges." After this, he signed a rescript underneath the peti-
tion I had drawn up, and which I have always preserved among
my papers. The rescript ran as follows: "Let the house be seen to,
and 'who is the vendor, and at 'what price; for we 'wish to comply
with Benvenuto's request"* 8 I naturally thought that this would
secure me in possession of the house; being over and above con-
vinced that my performances must far exceed what I promised.
His Excellency committed the execution of these orders to his
major-domo, who was named Ser Pier Francesco Riccio. 89 The man
came from Prato, and had been the Duke's pedagogue. I talked, then,
to this donkey, and described my requirements, for there was a
garden adjoining the house, on which I wanted to erect a workshop.
He handed the matter over to a paymaster, dry and meagre, who
bore the name of Lattanzio Gorini. This flimsy little fellow, with his
tiny spider's hands and small gnat's voice, moved about the business
at a snail's pace; yet in an evil hour he sent me stones, sand, and lime
enough to build perhaps a pigeon-house with careful management.
When I saw how coldly things were going forward, I began to feel
dismayed; however, I said to myself: "Little beginnings sometimes
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have great endings"; and I fostered hope in my heart by noticing
how many thousand ducats had recently been squandered upon
ugly pieces of bad sculpture turned out by that beast of a Buaccio
Bandinelli. 90 So I rallied my spirits and kept prodding at Lattanzio
Gorini, to make him go a little faster. It was like shouting to a pack
of lame donkeys with a blind dwarf for their driver. Under these
difficulties, and by the use of my own money, I had soon marked
out the foundations of the workshop and cleared the ground of
trees and vines, labouring on, according to my wont, with fire, and
perhaps a trifle of impatience.
On the other side, I was in the hands of Tasso the carpenter, a
great friend of mine, who had received my instructions for making
a wooden framework to set up the Perseus. This Tasso was a most
excellent craftsman, the best, I believe, who ever lived in his own
branch of art. 01 Personally, he was gay and merry by temperament;
and whenever I went to see him, he met me laughing, with some
little song in falsetto on his lips. Half in despair as I then was, news
coming that my affairs in France were going wrong, and these in
Florence promising but ill through the lukewarmness of my pa-
tron, I could never stop listening till half the song was finished; and
so in the end I used to cheer up a little with my friend, and drove
away, as well as I was able, some few of the gloomy thoughts which
weighed upon me.
LV
I HAD GOT all the above-mentioned things in order, and was making
vigorous preparations for my great undertaking indeed a portion
of the lime had already been used when I received sudden notice
to appear before the major-domo. I found him, after his Excellency's
dinner, in the hall of the clock. 92 On entering, I paid him marked
respect, and he received me with the greatest stiffness. Then he asked
who had installed me in the house, and by whose authority I had
begun to build there, saying he marvelled much that I had been so
headstrong and foolhardy. I answered that I had been installed in
the house by his Excellency, and that his lordship himself, in the
name of his Excellency, had given the orders to Lattanzio Gorini.
"Lattanzio brought stone, sand, and lime, and provided what I
wanted, saying he did so at your lordship's orders." When I had
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thus spoken, the brute turned upon me with still greater tartness,
vowing that neither I nor any of those whom I had mentioned spoke
the truth. This stung me to the quick, and I exclaimed: "O major-
domo, so long as your lordship 08 chooses to use language befitting
the high office which you hold, I shall revere you, and speak to you
as respectfully as I do to the Duke; if you take another line with me,
I shall address you as but one Ser Pier Francesco Riccio." He flew
into such a rage that I thought he meant to go mad upon the spot,
anticipating the time ordained by Heaven for him to do so. 94 Pouring
forth a torrent of abuse, he roared out that he was surprised at him-
self for having let me speak at all to a man of his quality. Thereupon
my blood was up, and I cried: "Mark my words, then, Ser Pier
Francesco Riccio! I will tell you what sort of men are my equals,
and who are yours mere teachers of the alphabet to children!" His
face contracted with a spasm, while he raised his voice and repeated
the same words in a still more insulting tone. I, too, assumed an air
of menace, and matching his own arrogance with something of the
same sort, told him plainly that men of my kind were worthy to
converse with popes and emperors, and great kings, and that perhaps
there were not two such men alive upon this earth, while ten of his
sort might be met at every doorway. On hearing these words he
jumped upon a window-seat in the hall there, and defied me to
repeat what I had said. I did so with still greater heat and spirit,
adding I had no farther mind to serve the Duke, and that I should
return to France, where I was always welcome. The brute remained
there stupefied and pale as clay; I went off furious, resolved on leav-
ing Florence; and would to God that I had done so!
The Duke cannot, I think, have been informed at once of this
diabolical scene, for I waited several days without hearing from him.
Giving up all thoughts of Florence, except what concerned the set-
tlement of my sister's and nieces 9 affairs, I made preparations to pro-
vide for them as well as I could with the small amount of money
I had brought, and then to return to France and never set my foot
in Italy again. This being my firm purpose, I had no intention to ask
leave of the Duke or anybody, but to decamp as quickly as I could;
when one morning the major-domo, of his own accord, sent very
humbly to entreat my presence, and opened a long pedantic oration,
in which I could discover neither method, nor elegance, nor mean-
ing, nor head, nor tail. I only gathered from it that he professed
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himself a good Christian, wished to bear no man malice, and asked
me in the Duke's name what salary I should be willing to accept.
Hearing this, I stood awhile on guard, and made no answer, being
firmly resolved not to engage myself. When he saw that I refused
to reply, he had at least the cleverness to put in: "Benvenuto, dukes
expect to be answered; and what I am saying to you, I am saying
from his Excellency's lips." Then I rejoined that if the message came
from his Excellency, I would gladly reply, and told him to report
to the Duke that I could not accept a position inferior to that of any
one employed by him as artist. The major-domo answered: "Bandi-
nelli receives two hundred crowns a year; if then you are contented
with that, your salary is settled." I agreed upon these terms, adding
that what I might earn in addition by the merit of my performances,
could be given after they were seen; that point I left entirely to the
good judgment of his Excellency. Thus, then, against my will, I
pieced the broken thread again, and set to work; the Duke continu-
ally treating me with the highest imaginable marks of favour.
LVI
I RECEIVED frequent letters from France, written by my most faithful
friend Messer Guido Guidi. As yet they told nothing but good news;
and Ascanio also bade me enjoy myself without uneasiness, since, if
anything happened, he would let me know at once.
Now the King was informed that I had commenced working for
the Duke of Florence, and being the best man in the world, he often
asked: "Why does not Benvenuto come back to us?" He put search-
ing questions on the subject to my two workmen, both of whom
replied that I kept writing I was well off where I was, adding they
thought I did not want to re-enter the service of his Majesty. In-
censed by these presumptuous words, which were none of my say-
ing, the King exclaimed: "Since he left us without any cause, I shall
not recall him; let him e'en stay where he is." Thus the thievish
brigands brought matters exactly to the pass they desired; for if I
had returned to France, they would have become mere workmen
under me once more, whereas, while I remained away, they were
their own masters and in my place; consequently, they did every-
thing in their power to prevent my coming back.
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LVII
WHILE THE WORKSHOP for executing my Perseus was in building, I
used to work in a ground-floor room. Here I modelled the statue in
plaster, giving it the same dimensions as the bronze was meant to
have, and intending to cast it from this mould. But finding that it
would take rather long to carry it out in this way, I resolved upon
another expedient, especially as now a wretched little studio had
been erected, brick on brick, so miserably built that the mere recol-
lection of it gives me pain. So then I began the figure of Medusa, and
constructed the skeleton in iron. Afterwards I put on the clay, and
when that was modelled, baked it.
I had no assistants except some little shopboys, among whom was
one of great beauty; he was the son of a prostitute called La Gam-
betta. I made use of the lad as a model, for the only books which
teach this art are the natural human body. Meanwhile, as I could not
do everything alone, I looked about for workmen in order to put the
business quickly through; but I was unable to find any. There were
indeed some in Florence who would willingly have come, but Bandi-
nello prevented them, and after keeping me in want of aid awhile,
told the Duke that I was trying to entice his work-people because I
was quite incapable of setting up so great a statue by myself. I com-
plained to the Duke of the annoyance which the brute gave me, and
begged him to allow me some of the labourers from the Opera. 98
My request inclined him to lend ear to Bandinello's calumnies; and
when I noticed that, I set about to do my utmost by myself alone.
The labour was enormous: I had to strain every muscle night and
day; and just then the husband of my sister sickened, and died after
a few days' illness. He left my sister, still young, with six girls of all
ages, on my hands. This was the first great trial I endured in Flor-
ence, to be made the father and guardian of such a distressed family.
LVIII
IN MY ANXIETY that nothing should go wrong, I sent for two hand-
labourers to clear my garden of rubbish. They came from Ponte
Vecchio, the one an old man of sixty years, the other a young fel-
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low of eighteen. After employing them about three days, the lad
told me that the old man would not work, and that I had better send
him away, since, beside being idle, he prevented his comrade from
working. The little I had to do there could be done by himself,
without throwing money away on other people. The youth was
called Bernardino Mannellini, of Mugello. When I saw that he was
so inclined to labour, I asked whether he would enter my service,
and we agreed upon the spot. He groomed my horse, gardened, and
soon essayed to help me in the workshop, with such success that by
degrees he learned the art quite nicely. I never had a better assistant
than he proved. Having made up my mind to accomplish the whole
affair with this man's aid, I now let the Duke know that Bandinello
was lying, and that I could get on famously without his work-people.
Just at this time I suffered slightly in the loins, and being unable
to work hard, I was glad to pass my time in the Duke's wardrobe
with a couple of young goldsmiths called Gianpagolo and Domenico
Poggini, 96 who made a Little golden cup under my direction. It was
chased in bas-relief with figures and other pretty ornaments, and his
Excellency meant it for the Duchess to drink water out of. He
furthermore commissioned me to execute a golden belt, which I
enriched with gems and delicate masks and other fancies. The Duke
came frequently into the wardrobe, and took great pleasure in watch-
ing me at work and talking to me. When my health improved, I had
clay brought, and took a portrait of his Excellency, considerably
larger than life-size, which I modelled while he stayed with me for
pastime. He was highly delighted with this piece, and conceived
such a liking for me that he earnestly begged me to take up my
working quarters in the palace, selecting rooms large enough for
my purpose, and fitting them up with furnaces and all I wanted, for
he greatly enjoyed watching the processes of art. I replied that this
was impossible; I should not have finished my undertakings in a
hundred years.
LIX
THE DUCHESS also treated me with extraordinary graciousness, and
would have been pleased if I had worked for her alone, forgetting
Perseus and everything besides. I for my part, while these vain
favours were being showered upon me, knew only too well that my
perverse and biting fortune could not long delay to send me some
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fresh calamity, because I kept ever before my eyes the great mis*
take I had committed while seeking to do a good action. I refer to
my affairs in France. The King could not swallow the displeasure
he felt at my departure; and yet he wanted me to return, if only this
could be brought about without concessions on his part. I thought
that I was entirely in the right, and would not bend submissively,
because I judged that if I wrote in humble terms, those enemies of
mine would say in their French fashion that I had confessed myself
to blame, and that certain misdoings with which they wrongfully
taxed me were proved true. Therefore I stood upon my honour, and
wrote in terms of haughty coldness, which was precisely what those
two traitors, my apprentices, most heartily desired. In my letters to
them I boasted of the distinguished kindness shown me in my own
birthplace by a prince and princess the absolute masters of Flor-
ence. Whenever they received one of these despatches, they went
to the King, and besieged his Majesty with entreaties for the castle
upon the same terms as he had granted it to me. The King, who was
a man of great goodness and perspicacity, would never consent to the
presumptuous demands of those scoundrels, since he scented the
malignity of their aims. Yet, wishing to keep them in expectation,
and to give me the opportunity of coming back, he caused an angry
letter to be written to me by his treasurer, Messer Giuliano Buonac-
corsi, a burgher of Florence. The substance was as follows: If I
wanted to preserve the reputation for honesty which I had hitherto
enjoyed, it was my plain duty, after leaving France with no cause
whatsoever, to render an account of all that I had done and dealt
with for his Majesty.
The receipt of this letter gave me such pleasure that, if I had con-
sulted my own palate, I could not have wished for either more or
less. I sat down to write an answer, and filled nine pages of ordinary
paper. In this document I described in detail all the works which
I had executed, and all the adventures I had gone through while per-
forming them, and all the sums which had been spent upon them.
The payments had always been made through two notaries and one
of his Majesty's treasurers; and I could show receipts from all the
men into whose hands they passed, whether for goods supplied or
labour rendered. I had not pocketed one penny of the money, nor
had I received any reward for my completed works. I brought back
with me into Italy nothing but some marks of favour and most royal
promises, truly worthy of his Majesty. "Now, though I cannot vaunt
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myself of any recompense beyond the salaries appointed for my
maintenance in France, seven hundred golden crowns of which are
still due, inasmuch as I abstained from drawing them until I could
employ them on my return-journey; yet knowing that malicious
foes out of their envious hearts have played some knavish trick
against me, I feel confident that truth will prevail. I take pride in his
Most Christian Majesty, and am not moved by avarice. I am indeed
aware of having performed for him far more than I undertook; and
albeit the promised reward has not been given me, my one anxiety
is to remain in his Majesty's opinion that man of probity and honour
which I have always been. If your Majesty entertains the least doubt
upon this point, I will fly to render an account of my conduct, at the
risk even of my life. But noticing in what slight esteem I am held,
I have no mind to come back and make an offer of myself, knowing
that I shall never lack for bread whithersoever I may go. If, how-
ever, I am called for, I will always answer." The letter contained
many f urther particulars worthy of the King's attention, and proper
to the preservation of my honour. Before despatching it, I took it to
the Duke, who read it with interest: then I sent it into France,
addressed to the Cardinal of Ferrara.
LX
ABOUT THIS TIME Bernardone Baldini, 97 broker in jewels to the
Duke, brought a big diamond from Venice, which weighed more
than thirty-five carats. Antonio, son of Vittorio Landi, was also
interested in getting the Duke to purchase it. 98 The stone had been
cut with a point; but since it did not yield the purity of lustre which
one expects in such a diamond, its owners had cropped the point,
and, in truth, it was not exactly fit for either point or table cutting. 99
Our Duke, who greatly delighted in gems, though he was not a
sound judge of them, held out good hopes to the rogue Bernardaccio
that he would buy this stone; and the fellow, wanting to secure for
himself alone the honour of palming it off upon the Duke of Flor-
ence, abstained from taking his partner Antonio Landi into the secret.
Now Landi had been my intimate friend from childhood, and when
he saw that I enjoyed the Duke's confidence, he called me aside (it
was just before noon, at a corner of the Mercato Nuovo), and spoke
as follows: "Benvenuto, I am convinced that the Duke will show you
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a diamond, which he seems disposed to buy; you will find it a big
stone. Pray assist the purchase; I can give it for seventeen thousand
crowns. I feel sure he will ask your advice; and if you see that he
has a mind for it, we will contrive that he secures it." Antonio pro-
fessed great confidence in being able to complete the bargain for the
jewel at that price. In reply, I told him that if my advice was taken,
I would speak according to my judgment, without prejudice to the
diamond.
As I have above related, the Duke came daily into our goldsmith's
workshop for several hours; and about a week after this conversation
with Antonio Landi he showed me one day after dinner the diamond
in question, which I immediately recognised by its description, both
as to form and weight. I have already said that its water was not
quite transparent, for which reason it had been cropped; so, when
I found it of that kind and quality, I felt certainly disinclined to
recommend its acquisition. However, I asked his Excellency what
he wanted me to say; because it was one thing for jewellers to value
a stone after a prince had bought it, and another thing to estimate it
with a view to purchase. He replied that he had bought it, and that
he only wanted my opinion. I did not choose to abstain from hinting
what I really thought about the stone. Then he told me to observe
the beauty of its great facets. 100 1 answered that this feature of the
diamond was not so great a beauty as his Excellency supposed, but
came from the point having been cropped. At these words my
prince, who perceived that I was speaking the truth, made a wry
face, and bade me give good heed to valuing the stone, and saying
what I thought it worth. I reckoned that, since Landi had offered
it to me for 17,000 crowns, the Duke might have got it for 15,000
at the highest; so, noticing that he would take it ill if I spoke the
truth, I made my mind up to uphold him in his false opinion, and
handing back the diamond, said: "You will probably have paid 18,000
crowns." On hearing this the Duke uttered a loud "Oh!" opening his
mouth as wide as a well, and cried out: "Now am I convinced that
you understand nothing about the matter." I retorted: "You are
certainly in the wrong there, my lord. Do you attend to maintaining
the credit of your diamond, while I attend to understanding my
trade. But pray tell me at least how much you paid, in order that 1
may learn to understand it according to the way of your Excel-
lency." The Duke rose, and, with a little sort of angry grin, replied:
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"Twenty-five thousand crowns and more, Benvenuto, did that stone
cost me!"
Having thus spoken, he departed. Giovanpagolo and Domenico
Poggini, the goldsmiths, were present; and Bachiacca, the em-
broiderer, who was working in an adjacent room, ran up at the
noise. 101 I told them that I should never have advised the Duke to
purchase it; but if his heart was set on having it, Antonio Landi had
offered me the stone eight days ago for 17,000 crowns. I think I
could have got it for 15,000 or less. But the Duke apparently wishes
to maintain his gem in credit; for when Antonio Landi was willing
to let it go at that price, how the devil can Bernardone have played
off such a shameful trick upon his Excellency? Never imagining that
the matter stood precisely as the Duke averred, we laughingly made
light of his supposed credulity.
LXI
MEANWHILE I was advancing with my great statue of Medusa. I had
covered the iron skeleton with clay, which I modelled like an ana-
tomical subject, and about half an inch thinner than the bronze
would be. This I baked well, and then began to spread on the wax
surface, in order to complete the figure to my liking. 102 The Duke,
who often came to inspect it, was so anxious lest I should not suc-
ceed with the bronze, that he wanted me to call in some master to
cast it for me.
He was continually talking in the highest terms of my acquire-
ments and accomplishments. This made his major-domo no less con-
tinually eager to devise some trap for making me break my neck.
Now his post at court gave him authority with the chief -constables
and all the offices in the poor unhappy town of Florence. Only to
think that a fellow from Prato, our hereditary f oeman, the son of a
cooper, and the most ignorant creature in existence, should have
risen to such a station of influence, merely because he had been the
rotten tutor of Cosimo de' Medici before he became Duke! Well,
as I have said, he kept ever on the watch to serve me some ill turn;
and finding that he could not catch me out on any side, he fell at
last upon this plan, which meant mischief. He betook himself to
Gambetta, the mother of my apprentice Cencio; and this precious
pair together that knave of a pedant and that rogue of a strumpet
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invented a scheme for giving me such a fright as would make me
leave Florence in hot haste. Gambetta, yielding to the instinct of
her trade, went out, acting under the orders of that mad, knavish
pedant, the major-domo I must add that they had also gained over
the Bargello, a Bolognese, whom the Duke afterwards dismissed for
similar conspiracies. Well, one Saturday evening, after sunset, Gam-
betta came to my house with her son, and told me she had kept him
several days indoors for my welfare. I answered that there was no
reason to keep him shut up on my account; and laughing her whorish
arts to scorn, I turned to the boy in her presence, and said these
words: "You know, Cencio, whether I have sinned with you!" He
began to shed tears, and answered, "No!" Upon this the mother,
shaking her head, cried out at him: "Ah! you little scoundrel! Do
you think I do not know how these things happen?" Then she
turned to me, and begged me to keep the lad hidden in my house,
because the Bargello was after him, and would seize him anywhere
outside my house, but there they would not dare to touch him. I
made answer that in my house lived my widowed sister and six girls
of holy life, and that I wanted nobody else there. Upon that she
related that the major-domo had given orders to the Bargello, and
that I should certainly be taken up: only, if I would not harbour
her son, I might square accounts by paying her a hundred crowns;
the major-domo was her crony, and I might rest assured that she
could work him to her liking, provided I paid down the hundred
crowns. This cozenage goaded me into such a fury that I cried:
"Out with you, shameful strumpet! Were it not for my good repu-
tation, and for the innocence of this unhappy boy of yours here, I
should long ago have cut your throat with the dagger at my side;
and twice or thrice I have already clasped my fingers on the handle."
With words to this effect, and many ugly blows to boot, I drove
the woman and her son into the street.
LXII
WHEN i REFLECTED on the roguery and power of that evil-minded
pedant, I judged it best to give a wide berth to his infernal machina-
tions; so early next morning I mounted my horse and took the road
for Venice, leaving in my sister's hands jewels and articles to the
value of nearly two thousand crowns. I took with me my servant
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Bernardino of Mugello; and when I reached Ferrara, I wrote word
to his Excellency the Duke, that though I had gone off without being
sent, I should come back again without being called for.
On arriving at Venice, and pondering upon the divers ways my
cruel fortune took to torment me, yet at the same time feeling my-
self none the less sound in health and hearty, I made up my mind
to fence with her according to my wont. While thus engrossed in
thoughts about my own affairs, I went abroad for pastime through
that beautiful and sumptuous city, and paid visits to the admirable
painter Titian, and to Jacopo del Sansovino, our able sculptor and
architect from Florence. The latter enjoyed an excellent appoint-
ment under the Signoria of Venice; and we had been acquainted
during our youth in Rome and Florence. These two men of genius
received me with marked kindness. The day afterwards I met Messer
Lorenzo de' Medici, 103 who took me by the hand at once, giving me
the warmest welcome which could be imagined, because we had
known each other in Florence when I was coining for Duke Ales-
sandro, and afterwards in Paris while I was in the King's service. At
that time he sojourned in the house of Messer Giuliano Buonaccorsi,
and having nowhere else to go for pastime without the greatest peril
of his life, he used to spend a large part of the day in my house,
watching me working at the great pieces I produced there. As I was
saying, our former acquaintance led him to take me by the hand
and bring me to his dwelling, where I found the Prior degli Strozzi,
brother of my lord Piero. While making good cheer together, they
asked me how long I intended to remain in Venice, thinking that I
was on my return journey into France. To these gentlemen I replied
that I had left Florence on account of the events I have described
above, and that I meant to go back after two or three days, in order
to resume my service with the Duke. On hearing this, the Prior and
Messer Lorenzo turned round on me with such sternness that I felt
extremely uneasy; then they said to me: "You would do far better
to return to France, where you are rich and well known; for if you
go back to Florence, you will lose all that you have gained in France,
and will earn nothing there but annoyances."
I made no answer to these words, and departed the next day as
secretly as I was able, turning my face again towards Florence. In
the meanwhile that infernal plot had come to a head and broken,
for I had written to my great master, the Duke, giving him a full
account of the causes of my escapade to Venice. I went to visit him
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without any ceremony, and was received with his usual reserve and
austerity. Having maintained this attitude awhile, he turned toward
me pleasantly, and asked where I had been. I answered that my heart
had never moved one inch from his most illustrious Excellency, al-
though some weighty reasons had forced me to go a-roaming for a
little while. Then softening still more in manner, he began to ques-
tion me concerning Venice, and after this wise we conversed some
space of time. At last he bade me apply myself to business, and com-
plete his Perseus. So I returned home glad and light-hearted, and
comforted my family, that is to say, my sister and her six daughters.
Then I resumed my work, and pushed it forward as briskly as I
could.
LXIII
THE FIRST PIECE I cast in bronze was that great bust, the portrait of
his Excellency, which I had modelled in the goldsmith's workroom
while suffering from those pains in my back. 104 It gave much
pleasure when it was completed, though my sole object in making it
was to obtain experience of clays suitable for bronze-casting. I was
of course aware that the admirable sculptor Donatello had cast his
bronzes with clay of Florence; yet it seemed to me that he had met
with enormous difficulties in their execution. As I thought that this
was due to some fault in the earth, I wanted to make these first ex-
periments before I undertook my Perseus. From them I learned
that the clay was good enough, but had not been well understood
by Donatello, inasmuch as I could see that his pieces had been cast
with the very greatest trouble. Accordingly, as I have described
above, I prepared the earth by artificial methods, and found it serve
me well, and with it I cast the bust; but since I had not yet con-
structed my own furnace, I employed that of Maestro Zanobi di
Pagno, a bell-founder.
When I saw that this bust came out sharp and clean, I set at once
to construct a little furnace in the workshop erected for me by the
Duke, after my own plans and design, in the house which the Duke
had given me. No sooner was the furnace ready than I went to work
with all diligence upon the casting of Medusa, that is the woman
twisted in a heap beneath the feet of Perseus. It was an extremely
difficult task, and I was anxious to observe all the niceties of art
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which I had learned, so as not to lapse into some error. The first cast
I took in my furnace succeeded in the superlative degree, and was
so clean that my friends thought I should not need to retouch it. It is
true that certain Germans and Frenchmen, who vaunt the possession
of marvellous secrets, pretend that they can cast bronzes without
retouching them; but this is really nonsense, because the bronze,
when it has first been cast, ought to be worked over and beaten in
with hammers and chisels, according to the manner of the ancients
and also to that of the moderns I mean such moderns as have known
how to work in bronze.
The result of this casting greatly pleased his Excellency, who often
came to my house to inspect it, encouraging me by the interest he
showed to do my best. The furious envy of Bandinello, however,
who kept always whispering in the Duke's cars, had such effect
that he made him believe my first successes with a single figure or
two proved nothing; I should never be able to put the whole large
piece together, since I was new to the craft, and his Excellency ought
to take good heed he did not throw his money away. These insinua-
tions operated so efficiently upon the Duke's illustrious ears, that part
of my allowance for work-people was withdrawn. I felt compelled
to complain pretty sharply to his Excellency; and having gone to
wait on him one morning in the Via de' Servi, I spoke as follows:
"My lord, I do not now receive the moneys necessary for my task,
which makes me fear that your Excellency has lost confidence in
me. Once more then I tell you that I feel quite able to execute this
statue three times better than the model, as I have before engaged
my word."
LXIV
I COULD SEE that this speech made no impression on the Duke, for he
kept silence; then, seized with sudden anger and a vehement emotion,
I began again to address him: "My lord, this city of a truth has ever
been the school of the most noble talents. Yet when a man has come
to know what he is worth, after gaining some acquirements, and
wishing to augment the glory of his town and of his glorious prince,
it is quite right that he should go and labour elsewhere. To prove
the truth of these words, I need only remind your Excellency of
Donatello and the great Lionardo da Vinci in die past, and of our
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incomparable Michel Angelo Buonarroti in the present; they aug-
ment the glory of your Excellency by their genius. I in my turn
feel the same desire and hope to play my part like them; therefore,
my lord, give me the leave to go. But beware of letting Bandinello
quit you; rather bestow upon him always more than he demands;
for if he goes into foreign parts, his ignorance is so presumptuous
that he is just the man to disgrace our most illustrious school. Now
grant me my permission, prince! I ask no further reward for my
labours up to this time than the gracious favour of your most illustri-
ous Excellency." When he saw the firmness of my resolution, he
turned with some irritation and exclaimed: "Benvenuto, if you want
to finish the statue, you shall lack for nothing." Then I thanked him
and said I had no greater desire than to show those envious folk
that I had it in me to execute the promised work. When I left his
Excellency, I received some slight assistance; but this not being
sufficient, I had to put my hand into my own purse, in order to
push the work forward at something better than a snail's pace.
It was my custom to pass the evening in the Duke's wardrobe,
where Domenico Poggini and his brother Gianpagolo were at work
upon that golden cup for the Duchess and the girdle I have already
described. His Excellency had also commissioned me to make a little
model for a pendant to set the great diamond which Bernardone and
Antonio Landi made him buy. I tried to get out of doing it, but the
Duke compelled me by all sorts of kindly pressure to work until
four hours after nightfall. He kept indeed enticing me to push this
job forward by daytime also; but I would not consent, although I
felt sure I should incur his anger. Now one evening I happened to
arrive rather later than usual, whereupon he said: "111 come may
you be!" 105 1 answered: "My lord, that is not my name; my name
is Welcome! But, as I suppose your Excellency is joking, I will add
no more." He replied that, far from joking, he meant solemn earnest.
I had better look to my conduct, for it had come to his ears that I
relied upon his favour to take in first one man and then another. I
begged his most illustrious Excellency to name a single person
whom I had ever taken in. At this he flew into a rage, and said: "Go,
and give back to Bernardone what you have of his. There! I have
mentioned one." I said: "My lord, I thank you, and beg you to con-
descend so far as to listen to four words. It is true that he lent me a
pair of old scales, two anvils, and three little hammers, which
articles I begged his workman, Giorgio da Cortona, fifteen days
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ago, to fetch back. Giorgio came for them himself. If your Ex-
cellency can prove, on referring to those who have spoken these
calumnies, or to others, that I have ever, from the day of my birth
till now, got any single thing by fraud from anybody, be it in Rome or
be it in France, then let your Excellency punish me as immoderately
as you choose." When the Duke saw me in this mighty passion, he
assumed the air of a prudent and benevolent lord, saying: "Those
words are not meant for well-doers; therefore, if it is as you say,
I shall always receive you with the same kindness as heretofore." To
this I answered: "I should like your Excellency to know that the
rascalities of Bernardone compel me to ask as a favour how much
that big diamond with the cropped point cost you. I hope to prove
on what account that scoundrel tries to bring me into disgrace."
Then his Excellency replied: "I paid 25,000 ducats for it; why do
you ask me?" "Because, my lord, on such a day, at such an hour,
in a corner of Mercato Nuovo, Antonio Landi, the son of Vittorio,
begged me to induce your Excellency to buy it, and at my first
question he asked 16,000 ducats for the diamond; 106 now your
Excellency knows what it has cost you. Domenico Poggini and
Gianpagolo his brother, who are present, will confirm my words;
for I spoke to them at once about it, and since that time have never
once alluded to the matter, because your Excellency told me I did
not understand these things, which made me think you wanted to
keep up the credit of your stone. I should like you to know, my
lord, that I do understand, and that, as regards my character, I con-
sider myself no less honest than any man who ever lived upon this
earth. I shall not try to rob you of eight or ten thousand ducats at
one go, but shall rather seek to earn them by my industry. I entered
the service of your Excellency as sculptor, goldsmith, and stamper
of coin; but to blab about my neighbour's private matters, never!
What I am now telling you I say in self-defence; I do not want my
fee for information. 107 If I speak out in the presence of so many
worthy fellows as are here, it is because I do not wish your Excel-
lency to believe what Bernardone tells you."
When he had heard this speech, the Duke rose up in anger, and
sent for Bernardone, who was forced to take flight as far as Venice,
he and Antonio Landi with him. The latter told me that he had not
meant that diamond, but was talking of another stone. So then they
went and came again from Venice; whereupon I presented myself
to the Duke and spoke as follows: "My lord, what I told you is the
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truth; and what Bernardone said about the tools he lent me is a
lie. You had better put this to the proof, and I will go at once to
the Bargello." The Duke made answer: "Benvenuto, do your best to
be an honest man, as you have done until now; you have no cause
for apprehension." So the whole matter passed off in smoke, and
I heard not one more word about it. I applied myself to finishing
his jewel; and when I took it to the Duchess, her Grace said that
she esteemed my setting quite as highly as the diamond which
Bernardaccio had made them buy. She then desired me to fasten it
upon her breast, and handed me a large pin, with which I fixed it, and
took my leave in her good favour. 108 Afterwards I was informed
that they had the stone reset by a German or some other foreigner
whether truly or not I cannot vouch upon Bernardone's suggestion
that the diamond would show better in a less elaborate setting.
LXV
I BELIEVE I have already narrated how Domenico and Giovanpagolo
Poggini, goldsmiths and brothers, were at work in the Duke's ward-
robe upon some little golden vases, after my design, chased with
figures in bas-relief, and other ornaments of great distinction. I often-
times kept saying to his Excellency: "My lord, if you will under-
take to pay some work-people, I am ready to strike coins for your
mint and medals with your portrait. I am willing to enter into
competition with the ancients, and feel able to surpass them; for
since those early days in which I made the medals of Pope Clement,
I have learned so much that I can now produce far better pieces
of the kind. I think I can also outdo the coins I struck for Duke
Alessandro, which are still held in high esteem; in like manner I
could make for you large pieces of gold and silver plate, as I did so
often for that noble monarch, King Francis of France, thanks to
the great conveniences he allowed me, without ever losing time for
the execution of colossal statues or other works of the sculptor's
craft." To this suggestion the Duke replied: "Go forward; I will
see"; but he never supplied me with conveniences or aid of any kind.
One day his most illustrious Excellency handed me several pounds
weight of silver, and said: "This is some of the silver from my
mines; 109 take it, and make a fine vase." Now I did not choose to
neglect my Perseus, and at the same time I wished to serve the
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Duke, so I entrusted the metal, together with my designs and models
in wax, to a rascal called Piero di Martino, a goldsmith by trade. He
set the work up badly, and moreover ceased to labour at it, so t that
I lost more time than if I had taken it in hand myself. After several
months were wasted, and Piero would neither work nor put men
to work upon the piece, I made him give it back. I moved heaven and
earth to get back the body of the vase, which he had begun badly,
as I have already said, together with the remainder of the silver. The
Duke, hearing something of these disputes, sent for the vase and the
models, and never told me why or wherefore. Suffice it to say, that
he placed some of my designs in the hands of divers persons at
Venice and elsewhere, and was very ill served by them.
The Duchess kept urging me to do goldsmith's work for her. I
frequently replied that everybody, nay, all Italy, knew well I was
an excellent goldsmith; but Italy had not yet seen what I could do in
sculpture. Among artists, certain enraged sculptors laughed at me, and
called me the new sculptor. "Now I hope to show them that I am an
old sculptor, if God shall grant me the boon of finishing my Perseus
for that noble piazza of his most illustrious Excellency." After this
I shut myself up at home, working day and night, not even showing
my face in the palace. I wished, however, to keep myself in favour
with the Duchess; so I got some little cups made for her in silver, no
larger than twopenny milk-pots, chased with exquisite masks in the
rarest antique style. When I took them to her Excellency, she re-
ceived me most graciously, and repaid the gold and silver I had
spent upon them. Then I made my suit to her and prayed her tell
the Duke that I was getting small assistance for so great a work; I
begged her also to warn him not to lend so ready an ear to Bandi-
nefio's evil tongue, which hindered me from finishing my Perseus.
In reply to these lamentable complaints the Duchess shrugged her
shoulders and exclaimed: "Of a surety the Duke ought only too well
to know that this Bandinello of his is worth nothing."
LXVI
I NOW STAYED AT HOME, and went rarely to the palace, labouring
with great diligence to complete my statue. I had to pay the work-
men out of my own pocket; for die Duke, after giving Lattanzio
Gorini orders to discharge their wages, at the end of about eighteen
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months, grew tired, and withdrew his subsidy. I asked Lattanzio
why he did not pay me as usual. The man replied, gesticulating with
those spidery hands of his, in a shrill gnat's voice: "Why do not you
finish your work? One thinks that you will never get it done." In
a rage I up and answered: "May the plague catch you and all who
dare to think I shall not finish it!"
So I went home with despair at heart to my unlucky Perseus, not
without weeping, when I remembered the prosperity I had aban-
doned in Paris under the patronage of that marvellous King Francis,
where I had abundance of all kinds, and here had everything to want
for. Many a time I had it in my soul to cast myself away for lost.
One day on one of these occasions, I mounted a nice nag I had, put a
hundred crowns in my purse, and went to Fiesole to visit a natural
son of mine there, who was at nurse with my gossip, the wife of
one of my work-people. When I reached the house, I found the boy
in good health, and kissed him, very sad at heart. On taking leave, he
would not let me go, but held me with his little hands and a tempest
of cries and tears. Considering that he was only two years old or
thereabouts, the child's grief was something wonderful. Now I
had resolved, in the heat of my despair, if I met Bandinello, who
went every evening to a farm of his above San Domenico, that I
would hurl him to destruction; so I disengaged myself from my
baby, and left the boy there sobbing his heart out. Taking the road
toward Florence, just when I entered the piazza of San Domenico,
Bandinello was arriving from the other side. On the instant I de-
cided upon bloodshed; but when I reached the man and raised my
eyes, I saw him unarmed riding a sorry mule or rather donkey,
and he had with him a boy of ten years. No sooner did he catch sight
of me than he turned the colour of a corpse, and trembled from
head to foot. Perceiving at once how base the business would be, I
exclaimed: "Fear not, vile coward! I do not condescend to smite
you." He looked at me submissively and said nothing. Thereupon
I recovered command of my faculties, and thanked God that His
goodness had withheld me from so great an act of violence. Then,
being delivered from that fiendish fury, my spirits rose, and I said
to myself: "If God but grant me to execute my work, I hope by
its means to annihilate all my scoundrelly enemies; and thus I shall
perform far greater and more glorious revenges than if I had vented
my rage upon one single foe." Having this excellent resolve in heart, I
reached my home. At the end of three days news was brought me
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that my only son had been smothered by his nurse, my gossip,
which gave me greater grief than I have ever had in my whole life.
However, I knelt upon the ground, and, not without tears, returned
thanks to God, as I was wont, exclaiming, "Lord, Thou gavest me
the child, and Thou hast taken him; for all Thy dealings I thank
Thee with my whole heart." This great sorrow went nigh to de-
priving me of reason; yet, according to my habit, I made a virtue of
necessity, and adapted myself to circumstances as well as I was able*
LXVII
ABOUT THIS TIME a young fellow called Francesco, the son of a smith,
Matteo, left Bandinello's employment, and inquired whether I would
give him work. I agreed, and sent him to retouch my Medusa, which
had been new-cast in bronze. After a fortnight he mentioned that
he had been speaking with his master, that is, Bandinello, who told
him, if I cared to make a marble statue, he would give me a fine
block of stone. I replied at once: "Tell him I accept his offer; perhaps
this marble will prove a stumbling-block to him, for he keeps on
provoking me, and does not bear in mind the great peril he ran upon
the piazza of San Domenico. Tell him I will have the marble by all
means. I never speak about him, and the beast is perpetually caus-
ing me annoyance. I verily believe you came to work here at his
orders for the mere purpose of spying upon me. Go, then, and
tell him I insist on having the marble, even against his will: see that
you do not come back without it."
LXVIII
MANY DAYS HAD ELAPSED during which I had not shown my face in
the palace, when the fancy took me to go there one morning just
as the Duke was finishing his dinner. From what I heard, his Ex-
cellency had been talking of me that morning, commending me
highly, and in particular praising my skill in setting jewels. There-
fore, when the Duchess saw me, she called for me by Messer
Sforza; 110 and on my presenting myself to her most illustrious Ex-
cellency, she asked me to set a little point-diamond in a ring, saying
she wished always to wear it; at the same time she gave me the
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measure and the stone, which was worth about a hundred crowns,
begging me to be quick about the work. Upon this the Duke began
speaking to the Duchess, and said: "There is no doubt that Benvenuto
was formerly without his peer in this art; but now that he has aban-
doned it, I believe it will be too much trouble for him to make a
little ring of the sort you want. I pray you, therefore, not to im-
portune him about this trifle, which would be no trifle to him owing
to his want of practice." I thanked the Duke for his kind words,
but begged him to let me render this trifling service to the Duchess.
Then I took the ring in hand, and finished it within a few days. It
was meant for the little finger; accordingly I fashioned four tiny
children in the round and four masks, which figures composed the
hoop. I also found room for some enamelled fruits and connecting
links, so that the stone and setting went uncommonly well together.
Then I took it to the Duchess, who told me graciously that I had pro-
duced a very fine piece, and that she would remember me. She after-
wards sent the ring as a present to King Philip, and from that time
forward kept charging me with commissions, so kindly, however,
that I did my best to serve her, although I saw but very little of her
money. God knows I had great need of that, for I was eager to
finish my Perseus, and had engaged some journeymen, whom I paid
out of my own purse. I now began to show myself more often than
I had recently been doing.
LXIX
IT HAPPENED on one feast-day that I went to the palace after dinner,
and when I reached the clockroom, I saw the door of the wardrobe
standing open. As I drew nigh it, the Duke called me, and after a
friendly greeting said: "You are welcome! Look at that box which
has been sent me by my lord Stef ano of Palestrina. 111 Open it, and let
us see what it contains." When I had opened the box, I cried to the
Duke: "My lord, this is a statue in Greek marble, and it is a miracle
of beauty. I must say that I have never seen a boy's figure so excel-
lently wrought and in so fine a style among all the antiques I have
inspected. If your Excellency permits, I should like to restore it-
head and arms and feet. I will add an eagle, in order that we may
christen the lad Ganymede. It is certainly not my business to patch
up statues, that being the trade of botchers, who do it in all con-
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science villainously ill; yet the art displayed by this great master of
antiquity cries out to me to help him." The Duke was highly de-
lighted to find the statue so beautiful, and put me a multitude of
questions, saying: "Tell me, Benvenuto, minutely, in what con-
sists the skill of this old master, which so excites your admiration."
I then attempted, as well as I was able, to explain the beauty of work-
manship, the consummate science, and the rare manner displayed
by the fragment. I spoke long upon these topics, and with the
greater pleasure because I saw that his Excellency was deeply
interested.
LXX
WHILE i WAS THUS pleasantly engaged in entertaining the Duke, a
page happened to leave the wardrobe, and at the same moment
Bandinello entered. When the Duke saw him, his countenance con-
tracted, and he asked him drily: "What are you about here?" Ban-
dinello, without answering, cast a glance upon the box, where the
statue lay uncovered. Then breaking into one of his malignant
laughs and wagging his head, he turned to the Duke and said: "My
lord, this exactly illustrates the truth of what I have so often told
your Excellency. You must know that the ancients were wholly
ignorant of anatomy, and therefore their works abound in mistakes."
I kept silence, and paid no heed to what he was saying; nay, indeed,
I had turned my back on him. But when the brute had brought his
disagreeable babble to an end, the Duke exclaimed: "O Benvenuto,
this is the exact opposite of what you were just now demonstrating
with so many excellent arguments. Come and speak a word in de-
fence of the statue." In reply to this appeal, so kindly made me by
the Duke, I spoke as follows: "My lord, your most illustrious Ex-
cellency must please to know that Baccio Bandinello is made up of
everything bad, and thus has he ever been; therefore, whatever he
looks at, be the thing superlatively excellent, becomes in his un-
gracious eyes as bad as can be. I, who incline to the good only,
discern the truth with purer senses. Consequently, what I told your
Excellency about this lovely statue is mere simple truth; whereas
what Bandinello said is but a portion of the evil out of which he is
composed." The Duke listened with much amusement; but Bandinello
writhed and made the most ugly faces his face itself being by na-
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ture hideous beyond measure which could be imagined by the mind
of man.
The Duke at this point moved away, and proceeded through some
ground-floor rooms, while Bandinello followed. The chamberlains
twitched me by the mantle, and sent me after; so we all attended
the Duke until he reached a certain chamber, where he seated him-
self, with Bandinello and me standing at his right hand and his left.
I kept silence, and the gentlemen of his Excellency's suite looked
hard at Bandinello, tittering among themselves about the speech I
had made in the room above. So then Bandinello began again to
chatter, and cried out: "Prince, when I uncovered my Hercules and
Cacus, I verily believe a hundred sonnets were written on me, full
of the worst abuse which could be invented by the ignorant
rabble." 112 I rejoined: "Prince, when Michel Agnolo Buonarroti
displayed his Sacristy to view, with so many fine statues in it, the
men of talent in our admirable school of Florence, always apprecia-
tive of truth and goodness, published more than a hundred sonnets,
each vying with his neighbour to extol these masterpieces to the
skies. 118 So then, just as Bandinello's work deserved all the evil
which, he tells us, was then said about it, Buonarroti's deserved the
enthusiastic praise which was bestowed upon it." These words of
mine made Bandinello burst with fury; he turned on me, and cried:
"And you, what have you got to say against my work?" "I will
tell you if you have the patience to hear me out." "Go along then,"
he replied. The Duke and his attendants prepared themselves to
listen. I began and opened my oration thus: "You must know that it
pains me to point out the faults of your statue; I shall not, however,
utter my own sentiments, but shall recapitulate what our most virtu-
ous school of Florence says about it." The brutal fellow kept making
disagreeable remarks and gesticulating with his hands and feet, until
he enraged me so that I began again, and spoke far more rudely than
I should otherwise have done, if he had behaved with decency.
"Well, then, this virtuous school says that if one were to shave the
hair of your Hercules, there would not be skull enough left to hold
his brain; it says .that it is impossible to distinguish whether his
features are those of a man or of something between a lion and an
ox; the face too is turned away from the action of the figure, and is
so badly set upon the neck, with such poverty of art and so ill a
grace, that nothing worse was ever seen; his sprawling shoulders
are like the two pommels of an ass's pack-saddle; his breasts and all
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the muscles of the body are not portrayed from a man, but from
a big sack full of melons set upright against a wall. The loins seem
to be modelled from a bag of lanky pumpkins; nobody can tell
how his two legs are attached to that vile trunk; it is impossible to
say on which leg he stands, or which he uses to exert his strength;
nor does he seem to be resting upon both, as sculptors who know
something of their art have occasionally set the figure. It is obvious
that the body is leaning forward more than one-third of a cubit,
which alone is the greatest and most insupportable fault committed
by vulgar commonplace pretenders. Concerning the arms, they say
that these are both stretched out without one touch of grace or
one real spark of artistic talents, just as if you had never seen a
naked model. Again, the right leg of Hercules and that of Cacus
have got one mass of flesh between them, so that if they were to be
separated, not only one of them, but both together, would be left
without a calf at the point where they are touching. They say, too,
that Hercules has one of his feet underground, while the other seems
to be resting on hot coals."
LXXI
THE FELLOW could not stand quiet to hear the damning errors of
his Cacus in their turn enumerated. For one thing, I was telling the
truth; for another, I was unmasking him to the Duke and all the
people present, who showed by face and gesture first their surprise,
and next their conviction that what I said was true. All at once he
burst out: "Ah, you slanderous tongue! why don't you speak about
my design?" I retorted: "A good draughtsman can never produce
bad works; therefore I am inclined to believe that your drawing is
no better than your statues." When he saw the amused expression
on the Duke's face and the cutting gestures of the bystanders, he
let his insolence get the better of him, and turned to me with that
most hideous face of his, screaming aloud: "Oh, hold your tongue,
you ugly . . ," 114 At these words the Duke frowned, and the others
pursed their lips up and looked with knitted brows toward him. The
horrible affront half maddened me with fury; but in a moment I
recovered presence of mind enough to turn it off with a jest: "You
madman! you exceed the bounds of decency. Yet would to God
that I understood so noble an art as you allude to; they say that
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Jove used it with Ganymede in paradise, and here upon this earth
it is practised by some of the greatest emperors and kings. I, however,
am but a poor humble creature, who neither have the power noi
the intelligence to perplex my wits with anything so admirable."
When I had finished this speech, the Duke and his attendants could
control themselves no longer, but broke into such shouts of laughter
than one never heard the like. You must know, gentle readers, that
though I put on this appearance of pleasantry, my heart was burst-
ing in my body to think that a fellow, the foulest villain who ever
breathed, should have dared in the presence of so great a prince to
cast an insult of that atrocious nature in my teeth; but you must also
know that he insulted the Duke, and not me; for had I not stood
in that august presence, I should have felled him dead to earth.
When the dirty stupid scoundrel observed that those gentlemen
kept on laughing, he tried to change the subject, and divert them
from deriding him; so he began as follows: "This fellow Benvenuto
goes about boasting that I have promised him a piece of marble." I
took him up at once. "What! did you not send to tell me by your
journeyman, Francesco, that if I wished to work in marble you
would give me a block? I accepted it, and mean to have it." He re-
torted: "Be very well assured that you will never get it." Still
smarting as I was under the calumnious insults he had flung at me,
I lost my self-control, forgot I was in the presence of the Duke, and
called out in a storm of fury: "I swear to you that if you do not
send the marble to my house, you had better look out for another
world, for if you stay upon this earth I will most certainly rip the
wind out of your carcass." 115 Then suddenly awaking to the fact
that I was standing in the presence of so great a duke, I turned sub-
missively to his Excellency and said: "My lord, one fool makes a
hundred; the follies of this man have blinded me for a moment to
the glory of your most illustrious Excellency and to myself. I
humbly crave your pardon." Then the Duke said to Bandinello: "Is
it true that you promised him the marble?" He replied that it was
true. Upon this the Duke addressed me: "Go to the Opera, and
choose a piece according to your taste." I demurred that the man
had promised to send it home to me. The words that passed be-
tween us were awful, and I refused to take the stone in any other
way. Next morning a piece of marble was brought to my house.
On asking who had sent it, they told me it was Bandinello, and
that this was the very block which he had promised. 116
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LXXII
I HAD IT BROUGHT at once into my studio, and began to chisel it.
While I was rough-hewing the block, I made a model. But my eager-
ness to work in marble was so strong, that I had not patience to
finish the model as correctly as this art demands. I soon noticed that
the stone rang false beneath my strokes, which made me oftentimes
repent commencing on it. Yet I got what I could out of the piece-
that is, the Apollo and Hyacinth, which may still be seen un-
finished in my workshop. While I was thus engaged, the Duke came
to my house, and often said to me: "Leave your bronze awhile, and
let me watch you working on the marble." Then I took chisel and
mallet, and went at it blithely. He asked about the model I had made
for my statue; to which I answered: "Duke, this marble is all
cracked, but I shall carve something from it in spite of that; there-
fore I have not been able to settle the model, but shall go on doing
the best I can."
His Excellency sent to Rome post-haste for a block of Greek
marble, in order that I might restore his antique Ganymede, which
was the cause of that dispute with Bandinello. When it arrived, I
thought it a sin to cut it up for the head and arms and other bits
wanting in the Ganymede; so I provided myself with another piece
of stone, and reserved the Greek marble for a Narcissus which I
modelled on a small scale in wax. I found that the block had two
holes, penetrating to the depth of a quarter of a cubit, and two good
inches wide. This led me to choose the attitude which may be noticed
in my statue, avoiding the holes and keeping my figure free from
them. But rain had fallen scores of years upon the stone, filtering
so deeply from the holes into its substance that the marble was de-
cayed. Of this I had full proof at the time of a great inundation
of the Arno, when the river rose to the height of more than a cubit
and a half in my workshop. 117 Now the Narcissus stood upon a
square of wood, and the water overturned it, causing the statue to
break in two above the breasts. I had to join the pieces; and in
order that the line of breakage might not be observed, I wreathed
that garland of flowers round it which may still be seen upon the
bosom. I went on working at the surface, employing some hours
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
before sunrise, or now and then on feast-days, so as not to lose the
time I needed for my Perseus.
It so happened on one of those mornings, while I was getting
some little chisels into trim to work on the Narcissus, that a very
fine splinter of steel flew into my right eye, and embedded itself
so deeply in the pupil that it could not be extracted. I thought for
certain I must lose the sight of that eye. After some days I sent for
Maestro Raffaello de' Pilli, the surgeon, who obtained a couple of
live pigeons, and placing me upon my back across a table, took the
birds and opened a large vein they have beneath the wing, so that
the blood gushed out into my eye. I felt immediately relieved, and
in the space of two days the splinter came away, and I remained
with eyesight greatly improved. Against the feast of S. Lucia, 118
which came round in three days, I made a golden eye out of a French
crown, and had it presented at her shrine by one of my six nieces,
daughters of my sister Liperata; the girl was ten years of age, and in
her company I returned thanks to God and S. Lucia. For some while
afterwards I did not work at the Narcissus, but pushed my Perseus
forward under all the difficulties I have described. It was my pur-
pose to finish it, and then to bid farewell to Florence.
LXXIII
HAVING SUCCEEDED so well with the cast of the Medusa, I had great
hope of bringing my Perseus through; for I had laid the wax on, and
felt confident that it would come out in bronze as perfectly as the
Medusa. The waxen model produced so fine an effect, that when
the Duke saw it and was struck with its beauty whether somebody
had persuaded him it could not be carried out with the same finish
in metal, or whether he thought so for himself he came to visit me
more frequently than usual, and on one occasion said: "Benvenuto,
this figure cannot succeed in bronze; the laws of art do not admit of
it." These words of his Excellency stung me so sharply that I
answered: "My lord, I know how very little confidence you have
in me; and I believe the reason of this is that your most illustrious
Excellency lends too ready an ear to my calumniators, or else indeed
that you do not understand my art." He hardly let me close the sen-
tence when he broke in: "I profess myself a connoisseur, and under-
stand it very well indeed." I replied: "Yes, like a prince, not like
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
an artist; for if your Excellency understood my trade as well as
you imagine, you would trust me on the proofs I have already given.
These are, first, the colossal bronze bust of your Excellency, which
is now in Elba; 119 secondly, the restoration of the Ganymede in
marble, which offered so many difficulties and cost me so much
trouble, that I would rather have made the whole statue new from
the beginning; thirdly, the Medusa, cast by me in bronze, here now
before your Excellency's eyes, the execution of which was a greater
triumph of strength and skill than any of my predecessors in this
fiendish art have yet achieved. Look you, my lord! I constructed
that furnace anew on principles quite different from those of other
founders; in addition to many technical improvements and ingenious
devices, I supplied it with two issues for the metal, because this
difficult and twisted figure could not otherwise have come out per-
fect. It is only owing to my intelligent insight into means and ap-
pliances that the statue turned out as it did; a triumph judged
impossible by all the practitioners of this art. I should like you
furthermore to be aware, my lord, for certain, that the sole reason
why I succeeded with all those great and arduous works in France
under his most admirable Majesty King Francis was the high courage
which that good monarch put into my heart by the liberal allow-
ances he made me, and the multitude of work-people he left at my
disposal. I could have as many as I asked for, and employed at
times above forty, all chosen by myself. These were the causes of
my having there produced so many masterpieces in so short a space
of time. Now then, my lord, put trust in me; supply me with the
aid I need. I am confident of being able to complete a work which
will delight your soul. But if your Excellency goes on dishearten-
ing me, and does not advance me the assistance which is absolutely
required, neither I nor any man alive upon this earth can hope to
achieve the slightest thing of value."
LXXIV
IT WAS AS MUCH as the Duke could do to stand by and listen to
my pleadings. He kept turning first this way and then that; while
I, in despair, poor wretched I, was calling up remembrance of the
noble state I held in France, to the great sorrow of my soul. All at
once he cried: "Come, tell me, Benvenuto, how is it possible that
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yonder splendid head of Medusa, so high up there in the grasp of
Perseus, should ever come out perfect?" I replied upon the in-
stant: "Look you now, my lord! If your Excellency possessed that
knowledge of the craft which you affirm you have, you would not
fear one moment for the splendid head you speak of. There is good
reason, on the other hand, to feel uneasy about this right foot, so
far below and at a distance from the rest." 'When he heard these
words, the Duke turned, half in anger, to some gentlemen in wait-
ing, and exclaimed: "I verily believe that this Benvenuto prides
himself on contradicting everything one says." Then he faced round
to me with a touch of mockery, upon which his attendants did the
like, and began to speak as follows: "I will listen patiently to any
argument you can possibly produce in explanation of your state-
ment, which may convince me of its probability." I said in answer:
"I will adduce so sound an argument that your Excellency shall
perceive the full force of it." So I began: "You must know, my lord,
that the nature of fire is to ascend, and therefore I promise you
that Medusa's head will come out famously; but since it is not in
the nature of fire to descend, and I must force it downwards six
cubits by artificial means, I assure your Excellency upon this most
convincing ground of proof that the foot cannot possibly come out.
It will, however, be quite easy for me to restore it." "Why, then,"
said the Duke, "did you not devise it so that the foot should come
out as well as you affirm the head will?" I answered: "I must
have made a much larger furnace, with a conduit as thick as my leg;
and so I might have forced the molten metal by its own weight to
descend so far. Now, my pipe, which runs six cubits to the statue's
foot, as I have said, is not thicker than two fingers. However, it was
not worth the trouble and expense to make a larger; for I shall
easily be able to mend what is lacking. But when my mould is more
than half full, as I expect, from this middle point upwards, the fire
ascending by its natural property, then the heads of Perseus and
Medusa will come out admirably; you may be quite sure of it.'* After
I had thus expounded these convincing arguments, together with
many more of the same kind, which it would be tedious to set down
here, the Duke shook his head and departed without further cere-
mony.
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LXXV
ABANDONED THUS to my own resources, I took new courage, and
banished the sad thoughts which kept recurring to my mind, making
me often weep bitter tears of repentance for having left France; for
though I did so only to revisit Florence, my sweet birthplace, in
order that I might charitably succour my six nieces, this good ac~
tion, as I well perceived, had been the beginning of my great mis-
fortune. Nevertheless, I felt convinced that when my Perseus was
accomplished, all these trials would be turned to high felicity and
glorious well-being.
Accordingly I strengthened my heart, and with all the forces of
my body and my purse, employing what little money still re-
mained to me, I set to work. First I provided myself with several
loads of pinewood from the forests of Serristori, in the neighbour-
hood of Montelupo. While these were on their way, I clothed my
Perseus with the clay which I had prepared many months before-
hand, in order that it might be duly seasoned. After making its
clay tunic (for that is the term used in this art) and properly arming
it and fencing it with iron girders, I began to draw the wax out by
means of a slow fire. This melted and issued through numerous air-
vents I had made; for the more there are of these, the better will
the mould fill. When I had finished drawing off the wax, I con-
structed a funnel-shaped furnace all round the model of my
Perseus. 120 It was built of bricks, so interlaced, the one above the
other, that numerous apertures were left for the fire to exhale at.
Then I began to lay on wood by degrees, and kept it burning two
whole days and nights. At length, when all the wax was gone, and
the mould was well baked, I set to work at digging the pit in which
to sink it. This I performed with scrupulous regard to all the rules
of art. When I had finished that part of my work, I raised the mould
by windlasses and stout ropes to a perpendicular position, and sus-
pending it with the greatest care one cubit above the level of the
furnace, so that it hung exactly above the middle of the pit, I next
lowered it gently down into the very bottom of the furnace, and
had it firmly placed with every possible precaution for its safety.
When this delicate operation was accomplished, I began to bank it
up with the earth I had excavated; and, ever as the earth grew higher,
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I introduced its proper air-vents, which were little tubes of earthen*
ware, such as folk use for drains and such-like purposes. 121 At
length, I felt sure that it was admirably fixed, and that the filling-in
of the pit and the placing of the air-vents had been properly per-
formed. I also could see that my work-people understood my
method, which differed very considerably from that of all the
other masters in the trade. Feeling confident, then, that I could
rely upon them, I next turned to my furnace, which I had filled
with numerous pigs of copper and other bronze stuff. The pieces
were piled according to the laws of art, that is to say, so resting
one upon the other that the flames could play freely through them,
in order that the metal might heat and liquefy the sooner. At last I
called out heartily to set the furnace going. The logs of pine were
heaped in, and, what with the unctuous resin of the wood and the
good draught I had given, my furnace worked so well that I was
obliged to rush from side to side to keep it going. The labour was
more than I could stand; yet I forced myself to strain every nerve
and muscle. To increase my anxieties, the workshop took fire, and
we were afraid lest the roof should fall upon our heads; while, from
the garden, such a storm of wind and rain kept blowing in, that
it perceptibly cooled the furnace.
Battling thus with all these untoward circumstances for several
hours, and exerting myself beyond even the measure of my powerful
constitution, I could at last bear up no longer, and a sudden fever, 128
of the utmost possible intensity, attacked me. I felt absolutely obliged
to go and fling myself upon my bed. Sorely against my will having
to drag myself away from the spot, I turned to my assistants, about
ten or more in all, what with master-founders, hand-workers, coun-
try-fellows, and my own special journeymen, among whom was
Bernardino Mannellini of Mugello, my apprentice through several
years. To him in particular I spoke: "Look, my dear Bernardino,
that you observe the rules which I have taught you; do your best
with all despatch, for the metal will soon be fused. You cannot go
wrong; these honest men will get the channels ready; you will easily
be able to drive back the two plugs with this pair of iron crooks;
and I am sure that my mould will fill miraculously. I feel more ill
than I ever did in all my life, and verily believe that it will kill me
before a few hours are over." 128 Thus, with despair at heart, I left
them, and betook myself to bed.
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LXXVI
No SOONER had I got to bed, than I ordered my serving-maids to
cany food and wine for all the men into the workshop; at the same
time I cried: "I shall not be alive to-morrow." They tried to en-
courage me, arguing that my illness would pass over, since it came
from excessive fatigue. In this way I spent two hours battling with the
fever, which steadily increased, and calling out continually, "I feel
that I am dying." My housekeeper, who was named Mona Fiore da
Castel del Rio, a very notable manager and no less warm-hearted,
kept chiding me for my discouragement; but, on the other hand,
she paid me every kind attention which was possible. However, the
sight of my physical pain and moral dejection so affected her, that,
in spite of that brave heart of hers, she could not refrain from shed-
ding tears; and yet, so far as she was able, she took good care I
should not see them. While I was thus terribly afflicted, I beheld the
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
figure of a man enter my chamber, twisted in his body into the
form of a capital S. He raised a lamentable, doleful voice, like one
who announces their last hour to men condemned to die upon the
scaffold, and spoke these words: "O Benvenuto! your statue is
spoiled, and there is no hope whatever of saving it," No sooner had
I heard the shriek of that wretch than I gave a howl which might
have been heard from the sphere of flame. Jumping from my bed,
I seized my clothes and began to dress. The maids, and my lad, and
every one who came around to help me, got kicks or blows of the
fist, while I kept crying out in lamentation, "Ah! traitors! enviers!
This is an act of treason, done by malice prepense! But I swear
by God that I will sift it to the bottom, and before I die will leave
such witness to the world of what I can do as shall make a score of
mortals marvel."
When I had got my clothes on, I strode with soul bent on mis-
chief toward the workshop; there I beheld the men, whom I had
left erewhile in such high spirits, standing stupefied and downcast. I
began at once and spoke: "Up with you! Attend to me! Since you
have not been able or willing to obey the directions I gave you,
obey me now that I am with you to conduct my work in person.
Let no one contradict me, for in cases like this we need the aid
of hand and hearing, not of advice." When I had uttered these words,
a certain Maestro Alessandro Lastricati broke silence and said: "Look
you, Benvenuto, you are going to attempt an enterprise which
the laws of art do not sanction, and which cannot succeed." I turned
upon him with such fury and so full of mischief, that he and all
the rest of them exclaimed with one voice: "On then! Give orders!
We will obey your least commands, so long as life is left in us." I
believe they spoke thus feelingly because they thought I must fall
shortly dead upon the ground. I went immediately to inspect the
furnace, and found that the metal was all curdled; an accident which
we express by "being caked." 124 I told two of the hands to cross
the road, and fetch from the house of the butcher Capretta, a load
of young oak-wood, which had lain dry for above a year; this
wood had been previously offered me by Madame Ginevra, wife
of the said Capretta. So soon as the first armfuls arrived, I began
to fill the grate beneath the furnace. 125 Now oak-wood of that
kind heats more powerfully than any other sort of tree; and for
this reason, where a slow fire is wanted, as in the case of gun-
foundry, alder or pine is preferred. Accordingly, when the logs
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
took fire, oh! how the cake began to stir beneath that awful heat,
to glow and sparkle in a blaze! At the same time I kept stirring up
the channels, and sent men upon the roof to stop the conflagration,
which had gathered force from the increased combustion in the
furnace; also I caused boards, carpets, and other hangings to be set
up against the garden, in order to protect us from the violence of
the rain.
LXXVII
WHEN i HAD thus provided against these several disasters, I roared
out first to one man and then to another: "Bring this thing here!
Take that thing there!" At this crisis, when the whole gang saw
the cake was on the point of melting, they did my bidding, each
feDow working with the strength of three. I then ordered half a
pig of pewter to be brought, which weighed about sixty pounds,
and flung it into the middle of the cake inside the furnace. By this
means, and by piling on wood and stirring now with pokers and
now with iron rods, the curdled mass rapidly began to liquefy.
Then, knowing I had brought the dead to life again, against the firm
opinion of those ignoramuses, I felt such vigour fill my veins, that
aU those pains of fever, all those fears of death, were quite for-
gotten.
All of a sudden an explosion took place, attended by a tremendous
flash of flame, as though a thunderbolt had formed and been dis-
charged amongst us. Unwonted and appalling terror astonied every
one, and me more even than the rest. When the din was over and
the dazzling light extinguished, we began to look each other in
the face. Then I discovered that the cap of the furnace had blown
up, and the bronze was bubbling over from its source beneath. So
I had the mouths of my mould immediately opened, and at the same
rime drove in the two plugs which kept back the molten metal.
But I noticed that it did not flow as rapidly as usual, the reason being
probably that the fierce heat of the fire we kindled had consumed
its base alloy. Accordingly I sent for all my pewter platters, por-
ringers, and dishes, to the number of some two hundred pieces, and
had a portion of them cast, one by one, into the channels, the rest
into the furnace. This expedient succeeded, and every one could
now perceive that my bronze was in most perfect liquefaction, and
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELUNI
my mould was filling; whereupon they all with heartiness and happy
cheer assisted and obeyed my bidding, while I, now here, now there,
gave orders, helped with my own hands, and cried aloud: "O God!
Thou that by Thy immeasurable power didst rise from the dead,
and in Thy glory didst ascend to heaven!" . . . even thus in fc
moment my mould was filled; and seeing my work finished, I fell
upon my knees, and with all my heart gave thanks to God.
After all was over, I turned to a plate of salad on a bench there,
and ate with hearty appetite, and drank together with the whole
crew. Afterwards I retired to bed, healthy and happy, for it was
now two hours before morning, and slept as sweetly as though I had
never felt a touch of illness. My good housekeeper, without my giv-
ing any orders, had prepared a fat capon for my repast. So that,
when I rose, about the hour for breaking fast, she presented her-
self with a smiling countenance, and said: "Oh! is that the man who
felt that he was dying? Upon my word, I think the blows and
kicks you dealt us last night, when you were so enraged, and had
that demon in your body as it seemed, must have frightened away
your mortal fever! The fever feared that it might catch it too, as we
did!" All my poor household, relieved in like measure from anxiety
and overwhelming labour, went at once to buy earthen vessels in
order to replace the pewter I had cast away. Then we dined to-
gether joyfully; nay, I cannot remember a day in my whole life
when I dined with greater gladness or a better appetite.
After our meal I received visits from the several men who had
assisted me. They exchanged congratulations, and thanked God for
our success, saying they had learned and seen things done which
other masters judged impossible. I too grew somewhat glorious; and
deeming I had shown myself a man of talent, indulged a boastful
humour. So I thrust my hand into my purse, and paid them all to
their full satisfaction.
That evil fellow, my mortal foe, Messer Pier Francesco Ricci,
major-domo of the Duke, took great pains to find out how the affair
had gone. In answer to his questions, the two men whom I sus-
pected of having caked my metal for me, said I was no man, but of
a certainty some powerful devil, since I had accomplished what no
craft of the art could do; indeed they did not believe a mere ordinary
fiend could work such miracles as I in other ways had shown. They
exaggerated the whole affair so much, possibly in order to excuse
their own part in it, that the major-domo wrote an account to the
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Duke, who was then in Pisa, far more marvellous and full of thrilling
incidents than what they had narrated.
LXXVIII
AFTER i HAD let my statue cool for two whole days, I began to
uncover it by slow degrees. The first thing I found was that the
head of Medusa had come out most admirably, thanks to the air-
vents; for, as I had told the Duke, it is the nature of fire to ascend.
Upon advancing farther, I discovered that the other head, that,
namely, of Perseus, had succeeded no less admirably; and this aston-
ished me far more, because it is at a considerably lower level than
that of the Medusa. Now the mouths of the mould were placed above
the head of Perseus and behind his shoulders; and I found that all the
bronze my furnace contained had been exhausted in the head of this
figure. It was a miracle to observe that not one fragment remained
in the orifice of the channel, and that nothing was wanting to the
statue. In my great astonishment I seemed to see in this the hand of
God arranging and controlling all.
I went on uncovering the statue with success, and ascertained that
everything had come out in perfect order, until I reached the foot
of the right leg on which the statue rests. There the heel itself was
formed, and going farther, I found the foot apparently complete.
This gave me great joy on the one side, but was half unwelcome
to me on the other, merely because I had told the Duke that it could
not come out. However, when I reached the end, it appeared that
the toes and a little piece above them were unfinished, so that about
half the foot was wanting. Although I knew that this would add a
trifle to my labour, I was very well pleased, because I could now
prove to the Duke how well I understood my business. It is true that
far more of the foot than I expected had been perfectly formed; the
reason of this was that, from causes I have recently described, the
bronze was hotter than our rules of art prescribe; also that I had been
obliged to supplement the alloy with my pewter cups and platters,
which no one else, I think, had ever done before.
Having now ascertained how successfully my work had been
accomplished, I lost no time in hurrying to Pisa, where I found the
Duke. He gave me a most gracious reception, as did also the Duchess;
and although the major-domo had informed them of the whole pro-
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
ceedings, their Excellencies deemed my performance far more stu-
pendous and astonishing when they heard the tale from my own
mouth. When I arrived at the foot of Perseus, and said it had not
come out perfect, just as I previously warned his Excellency, I saw
an expression of wonder pass over his face, while he related to the
Duchess how I had predicted this beforehand. Observing the princes
to be so well disposed towards me, I begged leave from the Duke
to go to Rome. He granted it in most obliging terms, and bade me
return as soon as possible to complete his Perseus; giving me letters
of recommendation meanwhile to his ambassador, Averardo Serris-
tori. We were then in the first years of Pope Giulio de MontL 126
LXXIX
BEFORE LEAVING HOME, I directed my work-people to proceed
according to the method I had taught them. The reason of my
journey was as follows. I had made a life-sized bust in bronze of
Bindo Altoviti, 127 the son of Antonio, and had sent it to him at Rome.
He set it up in his study, which was very richly adorned with an-
tiquities and other works of art; but the room was not designed for
statues or for paintings, since the windows were too low, so that the
light coming from beneath spoiled the effect they would have pro-
duced under more favourable conditions. It happened one day that
Bindo was standing at his door, when Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, the
sculptor, passed by; so he begged him to come in and see his study.
Michel Agnolo followed, and on entering the room and looking
round, he exclaimed: "Who is the master who made that good por-
trait of you in so fine a manner? You must know that that bust
pleases me as much, or even more, than those antiques; and yet there
are many fine things to be seen among the latter. If those windows
were above instead of beneath, the whole collection would show to
greater advantage, and your portrait, placed among so many master-
pieces, would hold its own with credit." No sooner had Michel
Agnolo left the house of Bindo than he wrote me a very kind letter,
which ran as follows: "My dear Benvenuto, I have known you for
many years as the greatest goldsmith of whom we have any informa-
tion; and henceforward I shall know you for a sculptor of like qual-
ity. I must tell you that Master Bindo Altoviti took me to see his
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bust in bronze, and informed me that you had made it. I was greatly-
pleased with the work; but it annoyed me to notice that it was placed
in a bad light; for if it were suitably illuminated, it would show
itself to be the fine performance that it is." This letter abounded
with the most affectionate and complimentary expressions towards
myself; and before I left for Rome, I showed it to the Duke, who
read it with much kindly interest, and said to me: "Benvenuto, if
you write to him, and can persuade him to return to Florence, I
will make him a member of the Forty-eight." 128 Accordingly I wrote
a letter full of warmth, and offered in the Duke's name a hundred
times more than my commission carried; but not wanting to make
any mistake, I showed this to the Duke before I sealed it, saying to
his most illustrious Excellency: "Prince, perhaps I have made him
too many promises." He replied: "Michel Agnolo deserves more
than you have promised, and I will bestow on him still greater
favours." To this letter he sent no answer, and I could see that the
Duke was much offended with him.
LXXX
WHEN i REACHED ROME, I went to lodge in Bindo Altoviti's house.
He told me at once how he had shown his bronze bust to Michel
Agnolo, and how the latter had praised it. So we spoke for some
length upon this topic. I ought to narrate the reasons why I had
taken this portrait. Bindo had in his hands 1200 golden crowns of
mine, which formed part of 5000 he had lent the Duke; 4000 were
his own, and mine stood in his name, while I received that portion of
the interest which accrued to me. 129 This led to my taking his por-
trait; and when he saw the wax model for the bust, he sent me fifty
golden scudi by a notary in his employ, named Ser Giuliano PaccalU.
I did not want to take the money, so I sent it back to him by the
same hand, saying at a later time to Bindo: "I shall be satisfied if you
keep that sum of mine for me at interest, so that I may gain a little
on it." When we came to square accounts on this occasion, I ob-
served that he was ill disposed towards me, since, instead of treating
me affectionately, according to his previous wont, he put on a stiff
air; and although I was staying in his house, he was never good-
humoured, but always surly. However, we settled our business in a
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few words. I sacrificed my pay for his portrait, together with the
bronze, and we arranged that he should keep my money at 15 per
cent, during my natural life.
LXXXI
ONE OF THE first things I did was to go and kiss the Pope's feet; and
while I was speaking with his Holiness, Messer Averardo Serristori,
our Duke's Envoy, arrived. 180 I had made some proposals to the
Pope, which I think he would have agreed upon, and I should have
been very glad to return to Rome on account of the great difficul-
ties which I had at Florence. But I soon perceived that the ambassa-
dor had countermined me.
Then I went to visit Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, and repeated what
I had written from Florence to him in the Duke's name. He replied
that he was engaged upon the fabric of S. Peter's, and that this would
prevent him from leaving Rome. I rejoined that, as he had decided
on the model of that building, he could leave its execution to his
man Urbino, who would carry out his orders to the letter. I added
much about future favours, in the form of a message from the Duke.
Upon this he looked me hard in the face, and said with a sarcastic
smile: "And you! to what extent are you satisfied with him?" Al-
though I replied that I was extremely contented and was very well
treated by his Excellency, he showed that he was acquainted with
the greater part of my annoyances, and gave as his final answer that
it would be difficult for him to leave Rome. To this I added that he
could not do better than to return to his own land, which was gov-
erned by a prince renowned for justice, and the greatest lover of the
arts and sciences who ever saw the light of this world. As I have re-
marked above, he had with him a servant of his who came from
Urbino, and had lived many years in his employment, rather as valet
and housekeeper than anything else; this indeed was obvious, because
he had acquired no skill in the arts. 181 Consequently, while I was
pressing Michel Agnolo with arguments he could not answer, he
turned round sharply to Urbino, as though to ask him his opinion.
The fellow began to bawl out in his rustic way: "I will never leave
my master Michel Agnolo's side till I shall have flayed him or he
shall have flayed me." These stupid words forced me to laugh, and
without saying farewell, I lowered my shoulders and retired.
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LXXXII
THE MISERABLE BARGAIN I had made with Bindo Altoviti, losing my
bust and leaving him my capital for life, taught me what the faith
of merchants is; so I returned in bad spirits to Florence. I went at
once to the palace to pay my respects to the Duke, whom I found
to be at Castello beyond Ponte a Rifredi. In the palace I met Messer
Pier Francesco Ricci, the major-domo, and when I drew nigh to pay
him the usual compliments, he exclaimed with measureless astonish-
ment: "Oh, are you come back?" and with the same air of surprise,
clapping his hands together, he cried: "The Duke is at Castello!"
then turned his back and left me. I could not form the least idea why
the beast behaved in such an extraordinary manner to me.
Proceeding at once to Castello, and entering the garden where the
Duke was, I caught sight of him at a distance; but no sooner had he
seen me than he showed signs of surprise, and intimated that I
might go about my business. I had been reckoning that his Excel-
lency would treat me with the same kindness, or even greater, as
before I left for Rome; so now, when he received me with such rude-
ness, I went back, much hurt, to Florence. While resuming my work
and pushing my statue forward, I racked my brains to think what
could have brought about this sudden change in the Duke's manner.
The curious way in which Messer Sforza and some other gentlemen
close to his Excellency's person eyed me, prompted me to ask the
former what the matter was. He only replied with a sort of smile:
"Benvenuto, do your best to be an honest man, and have no concern
for anything else." A few days afterwards I obtained an audience
of the Duke, who received me with a kind of grudging grace, and
asked me what I had been doing at Rome. To the best of my ability
I maintained the conversation, and told him the whole story about
Bindo Altoviti's bust. It was evident that he listened with attention;
so I went on talking about Michel Agnolo Buonarroti. At this he
showed displeasure; but Urbino's stupid speech about the flaying
made him laugh aloud. Then he said: "Well, it is he who suffers!"
and I took my leave.
There can be no doubt that Ser Pier Francesco, the major-domo,
must have served me some ill turn with the Duke, which did not,
however, succeed; for God, who loves the truth, protected me, as
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
He hath ever saved me, from a sea of dreadful dangers, and I hope
will save me till the end of this my life, however full of trials it may
be. I march forward, therefore, with a good heart, sustained alone
by His divine power; nor let myself be terrified by any furious
assault of fortune or my adverse stars. May only God maintain me
in His grace!
LXXXIII
I MUST BEG your attention now, most gracious reader, for a very
terrible event which happened.
I used the utmost diligence and industry to complete my statue,
and went to spend my evenings in the Duke's wardrobe, assisting
there the goldsmiths who were working for his Excellency. Indeed,
they laboured mainly on designs which I had given them. Noticing
that the Duke took pleasure in seeing me at work and talking with
me, I took it into my head to go there sometimes also by day. It hap-
pened upon one of those days that his Excellency came as usual to
the room where I was occupied, and more particularly because he
heard of my arrival. His Excellency entered at once into conversa-
tion, raising several interesting topics, upon which I gave my views
so much to his entertainment that he showed more cheerfulness
than I had ever seen in him before. All of a sudden, one of his secre-
taries appeared, and whispered something of importance in his ear;
whereupon the Duke rose, and retired with the official into another
chamber. Now the Duchess had sent to see what his Excellency was
doing, and her page brought back this answer: "The Duke is talk-
ing and laughing with Benvenuto, and is in excellent good-humour."
When the Duchess heard this, she came immediately to the ward-
robe, and not finding the Duke there, took a seat beside us. After
watching us at work awhile, she turned to me with the utmost gra-
ciousness, and showed me a necklace of large and really very fine
pearls. On being asked by her what I thought of them, I said it was
in truth a very handsome ornament. Then she spoke as follows: "I
should like the Duke to buy them for me; so I beg you, my dear
Benvenuto, to praise them to him as highly as you can." At these
words I disclosed my mind to the Duchess with all the respect I
could, and answered: "My lady, I thought this necklace of pearls
belonged already to your most illustrious Excellency. Now that I am
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
aware you have not yet acquired them, it is right, nay, more, it is
my duty to utter what I might otherwise have refrained from saying,
namely, that my mature professional experience enables me to detect
very grave faults in the pearls, and for this reason I could never
advise your Excellency to purchase them." She replied: "The
merchant offers them for six thousand crowns; and were it not for
some of those trifling defects you speak of, the rope would be worth
over twelve thousand." To this I replied, that "even were the neck-
lace of quite flawless quality, I could not advise any one to bid up
to five thousand crowns for it; for pearls are not gems; pearls are
but fishes* bones, which in the course of time must lose their fresh-
ness. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, on the contrary,
never grow old; these four are precious stones, and these it is quite
right to purchase," When I had thus spoken, the Duchess showed
some signs of irritation, and exclaimed: "I have a mind to possess
these pearls; so, prithee, take them to the Duke, and praise them up
to the skies; even if you have to use some words beyond the bounds
of truth, speak them to do me service; it will be well for you!"
I have always been the greatest friend of truth and foe of lies; yet,
compelled by necessity, unwilling to lose the favour of so great a
princess, I took those confounded pearls sorely against my inclina-
tion, and went with them over to the other room, whither the Duke
had withdrawn. No sooner did he set eyes upon me than he cried:
"O Benvenuto! what are you about here?" I uncovered the pearls
and said: "My lord, I am come to show you a most splendid neck-
lace of pearls, of the rarest quality, and truly worthy of your Excel-
lency; I do not believe it would be possible to put together eighty
pearls which could show better than these do in a necklace. My
counsel therefore is, that you should buy them, for they are in good
sooth miraculous." He responded on the instant: "I do not choose
to buy them; they are not pearls of the quality and goodness you
affirm; I have seen the necklace, and they do not please me." Then
I added: "Pardon me, prince! These pearls exceed in rarity and
beauty any which were ever brought together for a necklace." The
Duchess had risen, and was standing behind a door listening to all I
said. Well, when I had praised the pearls a thousandfold more warmly
than I have described above, the Duke turned toward me with a
kindly look, and said: "O my dear Benvenuto, I know that you have
an excellent judgment in these matters. If the pearls are as rare as you
certify, I should not hesitate about their purchase, partly to gratify
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the Duchess, and partly to possess them, seeing I have always need
of such things, not so much for her Grace, as for the various uses
of my sons and daughters." When I heard him speak thus, having
once begun to tell fibs, I stuck to them with even greater boldness;
I gave all the colour of truth I could to my lies, confiding in the
promise of the Duchess to help me at the time of need. More than
two hundred crowns were to be my commission on the bargain, and
the Duchess had intimated that I should receive so much; but I was
firmly resolved not to touch a farthing, in order to secure my credit,
and convince the Duke I was not prompted by avarice. Once more
his Excellency began to address me with the greatest courtesy: "I
know that you are a consummate judge of these things; therefore,
if you are the honest man I always thought you, tell me now the
truth." Thereat I flushed up to my eyes, which at the same time
filled with tears, and said to him: "My lord, if I tell your most illus-
trious Excellency the truth, I shall make a mortal foe of the Duchess;
this will oblige me to depart from Florence, and my enemies will
begin at once to pour contempt upon my Perseus, which I have an-
nounced as a masterpiece to the most noble school of your illustrious
Excellency. Such being the case, I recommend myself to your most
illustrious Excellency."
LXXXIV
THE DUKE was now aware that all my previous speeches had been,
as it were, forced out of me. So he rejoined: "If you have confidence
in me, you need not stand in fear of anything whatever." I recom-
menced: "Alas! my lord, what can prevent this coming to the ears
of the Duchess?" The Duke lifted his hand in sign of troth-pledge 182
and exclaimed: "Be assured that what you say will be buried in a
diamond casket!" To this engagement upon honour I replied by tell-
ing the truth according to my judgment, namely, that the pearls
were not worth above two thousand crowns. The Duchess, thinking
we had stopped talking, for we now were speaking in as low a voice
as possible, came forward, and began as follows: "My lord, do me
the favour to purchase this necklace, because I have Set my heart
on them, and your Benvenuto here has said he never saw a finer row
of pearls." The Duke replied: "I do not choose to buy them." "Why,
my lord, will not your Excellency gratify me by buying them? n
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
"Because I do not care to throw my money out of window." The
Duchess recommenced: "What do you mean by throwing your
money away, when Benvenuto, in whom you place such well-merited
confidence, has told me that they would be cheap at over three thou-
sand crowns?" Then the Duke said: "My lady! my Benvenuto here
has told me that, if I purchase this necklace, I shall be throwing my
money away, inasmuch as the pearls are neither round nor well-
matched, and some of them are quite faded. To prove that this is so,
look here! look there! consider this one and then that. The necklace
is not the sort of thing for me." At these words the Duchess cast a
glance of bitter spite at me, and retired with a threatening nod of her
head in my direction. I felt tempted to pack off at once and bid fare-
well to Italy. Yet my Perseus being all but finished, I did not like to
leave without exposing it to public view. But I ask every one to con-
sider in what a grievous plight I found myself!
The Duke had given orders to his porters in my presence, that if
I appeared at the palace, they should always admit me through his
apartments to the place where he might happen to be. The Duchess
commanded the same men, whenever I showed my face at that
palace, to drive me from its gates. Accordingly, no sooner did I pre-
sent myself, than these fellows left their doors and bade me begone;
at the same time they took good care lest the Duke should perceive
what they were after; for if he caught sight of me before those
wretches, he either called me, or beckoned to me to advance.
At this juncture the Duchess sent for Bernardone, the broker, of
whom she had so often complained to me, abusing his good-for-
nothingness and utter worthlessness. She now confided in him as she
had previously done in me. He replied: "My princess, leave the mat-
ter in my hands." Then the rascal presented himself before the Duke
with that necklace in his hands. No sooner did the Duke set eyes on
him than he bade him be gone. But the rogue lifted his big ugly voice,
which sounded like the braying of an ass through his huge nose, and
spoke to this effect: "Ah! my dear lord, for Heaven's sake buy this
necklace for the poor Duchess, who is dying to have it, and cannot
indeed live without it." The fellow poured forth so much of this
stupid nonsensical stuff that the Duke's patience was exhausted, and
he cried out: "Oh, get away with you, or blow your chaps out till
I smack them!" The knave knew very well what he was after; for if
by blowing out his cheeks or singing La Bella Franceschina?** he
could bring the Duke to make that purchase, then he gained the good
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grace of the Duchess, and to boot his own commission, which rose
to some hundreds of crowns. Consequently he did blow out his
chaps. The Duke smacked them with several hearty boxes, and, in
order to get rid of him, struck rather harder than his wont was. The
sound blows upon his cheeks not only reddened them above thek
natural purple, but also brought tears into his eyes. All the same,
while smarting, he began to cry: "Lo! my lord, a faithful servant
of his prince, who tries to act rightly, and is willing to put up with
any sort of bad treatment, provided only that poor lady have her
heart's desire!" The Duke, tired of the ribald fellow, either to recom-
pense the cuffs which he had dealt him, or for the Duchess's sake,
whom he was ever most inclined to gratify, cried out: "Get away
with you, with God's curse on you! Go, make the bargain; I am
willing to do what my lady Duchess wishes."
From this incident we may learn to know how evil Fortune exerts
her rage against a poor right-minded man, and how the strumpet
Luck can help a miserable rascal. I lost the good graces of the
Duchess once and forever, and thereby went close to having the
Duke's protection taken from me. He acquired that thumping fee
for his commission, and to boot their favour. Thus it will not serve
us in this world to be merely men of honesty and talent.
LXXXV
ABOUT THIS TIME the war of Siena broke out, 184 and the Duke, wish-
ing to fortify Florence, distributed the gates among his architects
and sculptors. I received the Prato gate and the little one of Arno,
which is on the way to the mills. The Cavaliere Bandinello got the
gate of San Friano; Pasqualino d'Ancona, the gate at San Pier Gatto-
Uni; Giulian di Baccio d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, had the gate of
San Giorgio; Particino, the wood-carver, had the gate of Santo
Niccolo; Francesco da San Gallo, the sculptor, called II Margolla,
got the gate of Santa Croce; and Giovan Battista, surnamed II Tasso,
the gate Pinti. 185 Other bastions and gates were assigned to divers
engineers, whose names I do not recollect, nor indeed am I con-
cerned with them. The Duke, who certainly was at all times a man
of great ability, went round the city himself upon a tour of inspec-
tion, and when he had made his mind up, he sent for Lattanzio
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Gorini, one of his paymasters. Now this man was to some extent an
amateur of military architecture; so his Excellency commissioned
him to make designs for the fortifications of the gates, and sent each
of us his own gate drawn according to the plan. After examining
the plan for mine, and perceiving that it was very incorrect in many
details, I took it and went immediately to the Duke. When I tried
to point out these defects, the Duke interrupted me and exclaimed
with fury: "Benvenuto, I will give way to you upon the point of
statuary, but in this art of fortification I choose that you should
cede to me. So carry out the design which I have given you." To
these brave words I answered as gently as I could, and said: "My
lord, your most illustrious Excellency has taught me something
even in my own fine art of statuary, inasmuch as we have always
exchanged ideas upon that subject; I beg you then to deign to
listen to me upon this matter of your fortifications, which is far
more important than making statues. If I am permitted to discuss it
also with your Excellency, you will be better able to teach me how
I have to serve you." This courteous speech of mine induced him
to discuss the plans with me; and when I had clearly demonstrated
that they were not conceived on a right method, he said: "Go, then,
and make a design yourself, and I will see if it satisfies me." Accord-
ingly, I made two designs according to the right principles for
fortifying those two gates, and took them to him; and when he dis-
tinguished the true from the false system, he exclaimed good-
humouredly: "Go and do it in your own way, for I am content to
have it so." I set to work then with the greatest diligence.
LXXXVI
THERE WAS ON GUARD at the gate of Prato a certain Lombard captain;
he was a truculent and stalwart fellow, of incredibly coarse speech,
whose presumption matched his utter ignorance. This man began at
once to ask me what I was about there. I politely exhibited my
drawings, and took infinite pains to make him understand my pur*
pose. The rude brute kept rolling his head, and turning first to
one side and then to the other, shifting himself upon his legs, and
twirling his enormous moustachios; then he drew his cap down over
his eyes and roared out: "Zounds! deuce take it! I can make nothing
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of this rigmarole. 9 ' At last the animal became so tiresome that 1 said:
"Leave it then to me, who do understand it," and turned my
shoulders to go about my business. At this he began to threaten me
with his head, and, setting his left hand on the pommel of his
sword, tilted the point up, and exclaimed: "Hullo, my master! you
want perhaps to make me cross blades with you?" I faced round in a
great fury, for the man had stirred my blood, and cried out: "It
would be less trouble to run you through the body than to build the
bastion of this gate." In an instant we both set hands to our swords,
without quite drawing; for a number of honest folk, citizens of
Florence, and others of them courtiers, came running up. The
greater part of them rated the captain, telling him that he was in
die wrong, that I was a man to give him back as good as I got, and
that if this came to the Duke's ears, it would be worse for him. Ac-
cordingly he went off on his own business, and I began with my
bastion.
After setting things in order there, I proceeded to the other little
gate of Arno, where I found a captain from Cesena, the most polite,
well-mannered man I ever knew in that profession. He had the
air of a gentle young lady, but at need he could prove himself
one of the boldest and bloodiest fighters in the world. This agree-
able gentleman observed me so attentively that he made me bashful
and self-conscious; and seeing that he wanted to understand what
I was doing, I courteously explained my plans. Suffice it to say, that
we vied with each other in civilities, which made me do far better
with this bastion than with the other.
I had nearly finished the two bastions when an inroad of Piero
Strozzi's people struck such terror into the country-folk of Prato
that they began to leave it in a body, and all their carts, laden with
the household goods of each family, came crowding into the city.
The number of them was so enormous, cart jostling with cart,
and the confusion was so great, that I told the guards to look out
lest the same misadventure should happen at this gate as had oc-
curred at the gates of Turin; for if we had once cause to lower
the portcullis, it would not be able to perform its functions, but
must inevitably stick suspended upon one of the waggons. When that
big brute of a captain heard these words, he replied with insults, and
I retorted in the same tone. We were on the point of coming to
a far worse quarrel than before. However, the folk kept us asunder;
and when I had finished my bastions, I touched some score of
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crowns, which I had not expected, and which were uncommonly
welcome. So I returned with a blithe heart to finish my Perseus.
LXXXVII
DURING THOSE DAYS some antiquities had been discovered in the
country round Arezzo. Among them was the Chimaera, that bronze
lion which is to be seen in the rooms adjacent to the great hall of
the palace. 138 Together with the Chimaera a number of little statu-
ettes, likewise in bronze, had been brought to light; they were cov-
ered with earth and rust, and each of them lacked either head or
hands or feet. The Duke amused his leisure hours by cleaning up
these statuettes himself with certain little chisels used by goldsmiths.
It happened on one occasion that I had to speak on business to his
Excellency; and while we were talking, he reached me a little
hammer, with which I struck the chisels the Duke held, and so
the figures were disengaged from their earth and rust. In this way
we passed several evenings, and then the Duke commissioned me
to restore the statuettes. He took so much pleasure in these trifles
that he made me work by day also, and if I delayed coming, he used
to send for me. I very often submitted to his Excellency that if I
left my Perseus in the daytime, several bad consequences would
ensue. The first of these, which caused me the greatest anxiety,
was that, seeing me spend so long a time upon my statue, the Duke
himself might get disgusted; which indeed did afterwards happen.
The other was that I had several journeymen who in my absence
were up to two kinds of mischief; first, they spoilt my piece, and
then they did as little work as possible. These arguments made his
Excellency consent that I should only go to the palace after twenty-
four o'clock,
I had now conciliated the affection of his Excellency to such an
extent, that every evening when I came to him he treated me with
greater kindness. About this time the new apartments were built
toward the lions; 187 the Duke then wishing to be able to retire into
a less public part of the palace, fitted up for himself a little chamber
in these new lodgings, and ordered me approach to it by a private
passage. I had to pass through his wardrobe, then across the stage
of the great hall, and afterwards through certain little dark galleries
and cabinets. The Duchess, however, after a few days, deprived me
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of this means of access by having all the doors upon the path I had
to traverse locked up. The consequence was that every evening
when I arrived at the palace, I had to wait a long while, because the
Duchess occupied the cabinets for her personal necessities. 188 Her
habit of body was unhealthy, and so I never came without incom-
moding her. This and other causes made her hate the very sight
of me. However, notwithstanding great discomforts and daily an-
noyances, I persevered in going. The Duke's orders, meanwhile,
were so precise, that no sooner did I knock at those doors, than they
were immediately opened, and I was allowed to pass freely where I
chose. The consequence was that occasionally, while walking noise-
lessly and unexpectedly through the private rooms, I came upon the
Duchess at a highly inconvenient moment. Bursting then into such
a furious storm of rage that I was frightened, she cried out: "When
will you ever finish mending up those statuettes? Upon my word,
this perpetual going and coming of yours has grown to be too great
a nuisance." I replied as gently as I could: "My lady and sole
mistress, I have no other desire than to serve you loyally and
with the strictest obedience. This work to which the Duke has put
me will last several months; so tell me, most illustrious Excellency,
whether you wish me not to come here any more. In that case I
will not come, whoever calls me; nay, should the Duke himself
send for me, I shall reply that I am ill, and by no means will I
intrude again." To this speech she made answer: "I do not bid you
not to come, nor do I bid you to disobey the Duke; but I repeat
that your work seems to me as though it would never be finished."
Whether the Duke heard something of this encounter, or what-
ever the cause was, he began again as usual. Toward fwenty-four
o'clock he sent for me; and his messenger always spoke to this
effect: "Take good care, and do not fail to come, for the Duke is
waiting for you." In this way I continued, always with the same
inconveniences, to put in an appearance on several successive eve-
nings. Upon one occasion among others, arriving in my customary
way, the Duke, who had probably been talking with the Duchess
about private matters, turned upon me in a furious anger. I was
terrified, and wanted to retire. But he called out: "Come in, friend
Benvenuto; go to your affairs; I will rejoin you in a few moments."
While I was passing onward, Don Garzia, then quite a little fellow,
plucked me by the cape, and played with me as prettily as such a
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child could do. The Duke looked up delighted, and exclaimed:
"What pleasant and friendly terms my boys are on with you!"
LXXXVIII
WHILE i WAS working at these bagatelles, the Prince, and Don Gio-
vanni, and Don Arnando, and Don Garzia kept always hovering
around me, teasing me whenever the Duke's eyes were turned. 189
I begged them for mercy's sake to hold their peace. They answered:
"That we cannot do." I told them: "What one cannot is required
of no one! So have your will! Along with you!" At this both
Duke and Duchess burst out laughing.
Another evening, after I had finished the small bronze figures
which are wrought into the pedestal of Perseus, that is to say, the
Jupiter, Mercury, Minerva, and Danae, with the little Perseus seated
at his mother's feet, I had them carried into the room where I was
wont to work, and arranged them in a row, raised somewhat above
the line of vision, so that they produced a magnificent effect. The
Duke heard of this, and made his entrance sooner than usual. It seems
that the person who informed his Excellency praised them above
their merit, using terms like "far superior to the ancients," and so
forth; wherefore the Duke came talking pleasantly with the Duchess
about my doings. I rose at once and went to meet them. With his
fine and truly princely manner he received me, lifting his right
hand, in which he held as superb a pear-graft as could possibly be
seen. "Take it, my Benvenuto!" he exclaimed; "plant this pear in
your garden." To these words I replied with a delighted gesture:
"O my lord, does your most illustrious Excellency really mean that
I should plant it in the garden of my house?" "Yes," he said, "in
the garden of the house which belongs to you. Have you understood
me?" I thanked his Excellency, and the Duchess in like manner, with
the best politeness I could use.
After this they both took seats in front of the statues, and for
more than two hours went on talking about nothing but the beauties
of the work. The Duchess was wrought up to such an enthusiasm
that she cried out: "I do not like to let those exquisite figures be
wasted on the pedestal down there in the piazza, where they will
run the risk of being injured. I would much rather have you fix
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them in one of my apartments, where they will be preserved with
the respect due to their singular artistic qualities." I opposed this
plan with many forcible arguments; but when I saw that she was
determined I should not place them on the pedestal where they now
stand, I waited till next day, and went to die palace about twenty-
two o'clock. Ascertaining that the Duke and Duchess were out rid-
ing, and having already prepared the pedestal, I had the statues
carried down, and soldered them with lead into their proper niches.
Oh, when the Duchess knew of this, how angry she was! Had it not
been for the Duke, who manfully defended me, I should have paid
dearly for my daring. Her indignation about the pearls, and now
again about this matter of the statues, made her so contrive that
the Duke abandoned his amusements in our workshop. Consequently
I went there no more, and was met again with the same obstructions
as formerly whenever I wanted to gain access to the palace.
LXXXIX
I RETURNED to the Loggia, 140 whither my Perseus had already been
brought, and went on putting the last touches to my work, under
the old difficulties always; that is to say, lack of money, and a hun-
dred untoward accidents, the half of which would have cowed a
man armed with adamant.
However, I pursued my course as usual; and one morning, after
I had heard mass at San Piero Scheraggio, that brute Bernardone,
broker, worthless goldsmith, and by the Duke's grace purveyor to
the mint, passed by me. No sooner had he got outside the church
than the dirty pig let fly four cracks which might have been heard
from San Miniato. I cried: "Yah! pig, poltroon, donkey! is that the
noise your filthy talents make?" and ran off for a cudgel. He took
refuge on die instant in the mint; while I stationed myself inside
my house-door, which I left ajar, setting a boy at watch upon the
street to warn me when the pig should leave the mint. After waiting
some time, I grew tired, and my heat cooled. Reflecting, then, that
blows are not dealt by contract, and that some disaster might ensue,
I resolved to wreak my vengeance by another method. The incident
took place about the feast of our San Giovanni, one or two days
before; so I composed four verses, and stuck them up in an angle of
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the church where people go to ease themselves. The verses ran as
follows:
"Here lieth Bernardone, ass and pig,
Spy 9 broker, thief, in whom Pandora planted
All her 'worst evils, and from thence transplanted
Into that brute Buaccio^s carcass ;g." 141
Both the incident and the verses went the round of the palace, giving
the Duke and Duchess much amusement. But, before the man him-
self knew what I had been up to, crowds of people stopped to read
the lines and laughed immoderately at them. Since they were look-
ing towards the mint and fixing their eyes on Bernardone, his son,
Maestro Baccio, taking notice of their gestures, tore the paper down
with fury. The elder bit his thumb, shrieking threats out with that
hideous voice of his, which comes forth through his nose; indeed
he made a brave defiance. 142
XC
WHEN THE DUKE was informed that the whole of my work for the
Perseus could be exhibited as finished, he came one day to look at it.
His manner showed clearly that it gave him great satisfaction; but
afterwards he turned to some gentlemen attending him and said:
"Although this statue seems in our eyes a very fine piece, still it has
yet to win the favour of the people. Therefore, my Benvenuto,
before you put the very last touches on, I should like you, for my
sake, to remove a part of the scaffolding on the side of the piazza,
some day toward noon, in order that we may learn what folk think
of it. There is no doubt that when it is thrown open to space and
light, it will look very differently from what it does in this en-
closure." I replied with all humility to his Excellency: "You must
know, my lord, that it will make more than twice as good a show.
Oh, how is it that your most illustrious Excellency has forgotten
seeing it in the garden of my house? There, in that large extent of
space, it showed so bravely that Bandinello, coming through the
garden of the Innocents to look at it, was compelled, in spite of his
evil and malignant nature, to praise it, he who never praised aught or
any one in all his life! I perceive that your Excellency lends too ready
an ear to that fellow." When I had done speaking, he smiled ironically
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and a little angrily; yet he replied with great kindness: "Do what I
ask, my Benvenuto, just to please me."
When the Duke had left, I gave orders to have the screen re-
moved. Yet some trifles of gold, varnish, and various other little
finishings were still wanting; wherefore I began to murmur and
complain indignantly, cursing the unhappy day which brought me
to Florence. Too well I knew already the great and irreparable sac-
rifice I made when I left France; nor could I discover any reasonable
ground for hope that I might prosper in the future with my prince
and patron. From the commencement to the middle and the end-
ing, everything that I had done had been performed to my great dis-
advantage. Therefore, it was with deep ill-humour that I disclosed
my statue on the following day.
Now it pleased God that, on the instant of its exposure to view, a
shout of boundless enthusiasm went up in commendation of my
work, which consoled me not a little. The folk kept on attaching
sonnets to the posts of the door, which was protected with a cur-
tain while I gave the last touches to the statue. I believed that on the
same day when I opened it a few hours to the public, more than
twenty were nailed up, all of them overflowing with the highest
panegyrics. Afterwards, when I once more shut it off from view,
every day brought sonnets, with Latin and Greek verses; for the
University of Pisa was then in vacation, and all the doctors and
scholars kept vying with each other who could praise it best. But
what gratified me most, and inspired me with most hope of the
Duke's support, was that the artists, sculptors and painters alike,
entered into the same generous competition. I set the highest value
on the eulogies of that excellent painter Jacopo Pontormo, and
still more on those of his able pupil Bronzino, who was not satisfied
with merely publishing his verses, but sent them by his lad Sandrino's
hand to my own house. 148 They spoke so generously of my perform-
ance, in that fine style of his which is most exquisite, that this
alone repaid me somewhat for the pain of my long troubles. So then
I closed the screen, and once more set myself to finishing my statue.
XCI
THE GREAT COMPLIMENTS which this short inspection of my Perseus
had elicited from the noble school of Florence, though they were
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well known to the Duke, did not prevent him from saying: "I am
delighted that Benvenuto has had this trifling satisfaction, which will
spur him on to the desired conclusion with more speed and diligence.
Do not, however, let him imagine that, when his Perseus shall be
finally exposed to view from all sides, folk in general will be so
lavish of their praises. On the contrary, I am afraid that all its de-
fects will then be brought home to him, and more will be detected
than the statue really has. So let him arm himself with patience."
These were precisely the words which Bandinello had whispered in
the Duke's ears, citing the works of Andrea del Verrocchio, who
made that fine bronze of Christ and S. Thomas on the front of
Orsammichele; at the same time he referred to many other statues,
and dared even to attack the marvellous David of divine Michel
Agnolo Buonarroti, accusing it of only looking well if seen in front;
finally, he touched upon the multitude of sarcastic sonnets which
were called forth by his own Hercules and Cacus, and wound up
with abusing the people of Florence. Now the Duke, who was too
much inclined to credit his assertions, encouraged the fellow to
speak thus, and thought in his own heart that things would go as he
had prophesied, because that envious creature Bandinello never
ceased insinuating malice. On one occasion it happened that the
gallows bird Bernardone, the broker, was present at these conversa-
tions, and in support of Bandinello's calumnies, he said to the Duke:
"You must remember, prince, that statues on a large scale are quite
a different dish of soup from little figures. I do not refuse him the
credit of being excellent at statuettes in miniature. But you will
soon see that he cannot succeed in that other sphere of art." To
these vile suggestions he added many others of all sorts, plying his
spy's office, and piling up a mountain of lies to boot.
XCII
Now IT PLEASED my glorious Lord and immortal God that at last I
brought the whole work to completion: and on a certain Thursday
morning I exposed it to the public gaze. 144 Immediately, before the
sun was fully in the heavens, there assembled such a multitude of
people that no words could describe them. All with one voice con-
tended which should praise it most. The Duke was stationed at a
window low upon the first floor of the palace, just above the en-
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trance; there, half hidden, he heard everything the folk were say-
ing of my statue. After listening through several hours, he rose so
proud and happy in his heart that he turned to his attendant, Messer
Sforza, and exclaimed: "Sforza, go and seek out Benvenuto; tell him
from me that he has delighted me far more than I expected: say too
that I shall reward him in a way which will astonish him; so bid him
be of good courage."
In due course, Messer Sforza discharged this glorious embassy,
which consoled me greatly. I passed a happy day, partly because of
the Duke's message, and also because the folk kept pointing me out
as something marvellous and strange. Among the many who did so,
were two gentlemen, deputed by the Viceroy of Sicily 145 to our
Duke on public business. Now these two agreeable persons met me
upon the piazza: I had been shown them in passing, and now they
made monstrous haste to catch me up; then, with caps in hand, they
uttered an oration so ceremonious, that it would have been exces-
sive for a Pope. I bowed, with every protestation of humility. They
meanwhile continued loading me with compliments, until at last I
prayed them, for kindness' sake, to leave the piazza in my company,
because the folk were stopping and staring at me more than at my
Perseus. In the midst of all these ceremonies, they went so far as
to propose that I should come to Sicily, and offered to make terms
which should content me. They told me how Fra Giovan Agnolo
de' Servi 146 had constructed a fountain for them, complete in all
its parts, and decorated with a multitude of figures; but it was not in
the same good style they recognised in Perseus, and yet they had
heaped riches on the man. I would not suffer them to finish all
their speeches, but answered: "You give me much cause for wonder,
seeking as you do to make me quit the service of a prince who is
the greatest patron of the arts that ever lived; and I too here in my
own birthplace, famous as the school of every art and science! Oh,
if my soul's desire had been set on lucre, I could have stayed in
France, with that great monarch Francis, who gave me a thousand
golden crowns a year for board, and paid me in addition the price of
all my labour. In his service I gained more than four thousand golden
crowns the year."
With these and such-like words I cut their ceremonies short,
thanking them for the high praises they had bestowed upon me,
which were indeed the best reward that artists could receive for
their labours. I told them they had greatly stimulated my zeal, so
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that I hoped, after a few years were passed, to exhibit another master-
piece, which I dared believe would yield far truer satisfaction to
our noble school of Florence. The two gentlemen were eager to
resume the thread of their complimentary proposals, whereupon I,
lifting my cap and making a profound bow, bade them a polite
farewell.
XCIII
WHEN TWO MORE DAYS had passed, and the chorus of praise was ever
on the increase, I resolved to go and present myself to the Duke,
who said with great good-humour: "My Benvenuto, you have
satisfied and delighted me; but I promise that I will reward you in
such wise as will make you wonder; and I tell you that I do not
mean to delay beyond to-morrow." On hearing this most welcome
assurance, I turned all the forces of my soul and body to God,
fervently offering up thanks to Him. At the same moment I ap-
proached the Duke, and almost weeping for gladness, kissed his
robe. Then I added: "O my glorious prince, true and most generous
lover of the arts, and of those who exercise them! I entreat your
most illustrious Excellency to allow me eight days first to go and
return thanks to God; for I alone know what travail I have endured,
and that my earnest faith has moved Him to assist me. In gratitude for
this and all other marvellous mercies, I should like to travel eight days
on pilgrimage, continually thanking my immortal God, who never
fails to help those who call upon Him with sincerity." The Duke
then asked me where I wished to go. I answered: "To-morrow I shall
set out for Vallombrosa, thence to Camaldoli and the Ermo, after-
wards I shall proceed to the Bagni di Santa Maria, and perhaps
so far as Sestile, because I hear of fine antiquities to be seen there. 147
Then I shall retrace my steps by San Francesco della Vernia, and,
still with thanks to God, return light-hearted to your service." The
Duke replied at once with cheerful kindness: "Go and come back
again, for of a truth you please me; but do not forget to send a
couple of lines by way of memorandum, and leave the rest to me."
I wrote four lines that very day, in which I thanked his Excellency
for expected favours, and gave these to Messer Sforza, who placed
them in the Duke's hands. The latter took them, and then handed
them to Messer Sforza, remarking: "See that you put these lines
each day where I can see them; for if Benvenuto comes back and
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finds I have not despatched his business, I think that he will murder
me." Thus laughing, his Excellency asked to be reminded. Messer
Sforza reported these precise words to me on the same evening,
laughing too and expressing wonder at the great favour shown me
by the Duke. He pleasantly added: "Go, Benvenuto, and come again
quickly, for indeed I am jealous of you."
XCIV
IN GOD'S NAME then I left Florence, continually singing psalms and
prayers in His honour upon all that journey. I enjoyed it extremely;
for the season was fine, in early summer, and the country through
which I travelled, and which I had never seen before, struck me as
marvellously beautiful. Now I had taken with me to serve as guide
a young workman in my employ, who came from Bagno, and was
called Cesare. Thanks to him, then, I received the kindest hospitality
from his father and all his family, among whom was an old man of
more than seventy, extremely pleasant in his conversation. He was
Cesare's uncle, a surgeon by profession, and a dabbler in alchemy.
This excellent person made me observe that the Bagni contained
mines of gold and silver, and showed me many interesting objects
in the neighbourhood; so that I enjoyed myself as much as I have
ever done.
One day, when we had become intimate and he could trust me,
he spoke as follows: "I must not omit to tell you a thought of mine,
to which his Excellency might with advantage pay attention. It is,
that not far from Camaldoli there lies a mountain pass so ill defended,
that Piero Strozzi could not only cross it without risk, but might
also seize on Poppi 148 unmolested." Not satisfied with this descrip-
tion, he also took a sheet of paper from his pouch, upon which the
good old man had drawn the whole country, so that the seriousness
of the danger could be manifest upon inspection of the map. I took
the design and left Bagno at once, travelling homeward as fast as
I could by Prato Magno and San Francesco della Vernia. On reach-
ing Florence, I only stopped to draw off my riding-boots, and hur-
ried to the palace. Just opposite the Badia I met the Duke, who was
coming by the palace of the Podesta. When he saw me he gave me
a very gracious reception, and showing some surprise, exclaimed:
"Why have you come back so quickly; I did not expect you for
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eight days at least." I answered: "The service of your most illustri-
ous Excellency brings me back, else I should very willingly have
stayed some few days longer on my journey through that lovely
country." "Well, and what good news have you?" said he. I an-
swered: "Prince, I must talk to you about things of the greatest
importance which I have to disclose." So I followed him to the
palace, and when we were there, he took me privately into a
chamber where we stayed awhile alone together. I then unfolded the
whole matter and showed him the little map, with which he seemed
to be much gratified. When I told his Excellency that one ought to
take measures at once, he reflected for a little while and then said:
"I may inform you that we have agreed with the Duke of Urbino
that he should guard the pass; but do not speak about it." Then he
dismissed me with great demonstrations of good-will, and I went
home.
xcv
NEXT DAY I presented myself, and, after a few words of conversa-
tion, the Duke addressed me cheerfully: "To-morrow, without fail,
I mean to despatch your business; set your mind at rest, then." I,
who felt sure that he meant what he said, waited with great im-
patience for the morrow. When the longed-for day arrived, I be-
took me to the palace; and as it always happens that evil tidings
travel faster than good news, Messer Giacopo Guidi, 149 secretary
to his Excellency, called me with his wry mouth and haughty
voice; drawing himself up as stiff as a poker, he began to speak to
this effect: "The Duke says he wants you to tell him how much you
ask for your Perseus." I remained dumbfounded and astonished;
yet I quickly replied that it was not my custom to put prices on
my work, and that this was not what his Excellency had promised
me two days ago. The man raised his voice, and ordered me ex-
pressly in the Duke's name, under the penalty of his severe dis-
pleasure, to say how much I wanted. Now I had hoped not only to
gain some handsome reward, trusting to the mighty signs of kind-
ness shown me by the Duke, but I had still more expected to secure
the entire good graces of his Excellency, seeing I never asked for
anything, but only for his favour. Accordingly, this wholly un-
expected way of dealing with me put me in a fury, and I was espe-
cially enraged by the manner which that venomous toad assumed in
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discharging his commission. I exclaimed that if the Duke gave me
ten thousand crowns I should not be paid enough, and that if I had
ever thought things would come to this haggling, I should not have
settled in his service. Thereupon the surly fellow began to abuse
me, and I gave it him back again.
Upon the following day, when I paid my respects to the Duke,
he beckoned to me. I approached, and he exclaimed in anger: "Cities
and great palaces are built with ten thousands of ducats." I rejoined:
"Your Excellency can find multitudes of men who are able to build
you cities and palaces, but you will not, perhaps, find one man in
the world who could make a second Perseus." Then I took my leave
without saying or doing anything further. A few days afterwards
the Duchess sent for me, and advised me to put my difference with
the Duke into her hands, since she thought she could -conduct the
business to my satisfaction. On hearing these kindly words I replied
that I had never asked any other recompense for my labours than
the good graces of the Duke, and that his most illustrious Excellency
had assured me of this; it was not needful that I should place in their
Excellencies' hands what I had always frankly left to them from the
first days when I undertook their service. I further added that if his
most illustrious Excellency gave me but a crazia? which is worth
five farthings, for my work, I should consider myself contented,
provided only that his Excellency did not deprive me of his favour.
At these words the Duchess smiled a little and said: "Benvenuto,
you would do well to act as I advise you." Then she turned her back
and left me. I thought it was my best policy to speak with the
humility I have above described; yet it turned out that I had done
the worst for myself, because, albeit she had harboured some angry
feelings toward me, she had in her a certain way of dealing which
was generous.
XCVI
ABOUT THAT TIME I was very intimate with Girolamo degli Albizzi, 181
commissary to the Duke's militia. One day this friend said to me: "O
Benvenuto, it would not be a bad thing to put your little difference
of opinion with the Duke to rights; and I assure you that if you
repose confidence in me, I feel myself the man to settle matters. I
know what I am saying. The Duke is getting really angry, and you
will come badly out of the affair. Let this suffice; I am not at liberty
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to say all I know." Now, subsequently to that conversation with
the Duchess, I had been told by some one, possibly a rogue, that
he had heard how the Duke said upon some occasion which offered
itself: "For less than two farthings I will throw Perseus to the dogs,
and so our differences will be ended." This, then, made me anxious,
and induced me to entrust Girolamo degli Albizzi with the negotia-
tions, telling him anything would satisfy me provided I retained
the good graces of the Duke. That honest fellow was excellent in
all his dealings with soldiers, especially with the militia, who are for
the most part rustics; but he had no taste for statuary, and therefore
could not understand its conditions. Consequently, when he spoke
to the Duke, he began thus: "Prince, Benvenuto has placed him-
self in my hands, and has begged me to recommend him to your
Excellency." The Duke replied: "I too am willing to refer myself
to you, and shall be satisfied with your decision." Thereupon Giro-
lamo composed a letter, with much skill and greatly to my honour,
fixing the sum which the Duke would have to pay me at 3500 golden
crowns in gold; and this should not be taken as my proper recom-
pense for such a masterpiece, but only as a kind of gratuity; enough
to say that I was satisfied; with many other phrases of like tenor, all
of which implied the price which I have mentioned.
The Duke signed this agreement as gladly as I took it sadly.
When the Duchess heard, she said: "It would have been better for
that poor man if he had placed himself in my hands; I could have
got him five thousand crowns in gold." One day, when I went to
the palace, she repeated these same words to me in the presence of
Messer Alamanno Salviati, 162 and laughed at me a little, saying that
I deserved my bad luck.
The Duke gave orders that I should be paid a hundred golden
crowns in gold per month, until the sum was discharged; and thus
it ran for some months. Afterwards, Messer Antonio de' Nobili,
who had to transact the business, began to give me fifty, and some-
times later on he gave me twenty-five, and sometimes nothing. Ac-
cordingly, when I saw that the settlement was being thus deferred, I
spoke good-humouredly to Messer Antonio, and begged him to
explain why he did not complete my payments. He answered in a
like tone of politeness; yet it struck me that he exposed his own
mind too much. Let the reader judge. He began by saying that the
sole reason why he could not go forward regularly with these pay-
ments, was the scarcity of money at the palace; but he promised,
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when cash came in, to discharge arrears. Then he added: "Oh
heavens! if I did not pay you, I should be an utter rogue." I was
somewhat surprised to hear him speak in that way; yet I resolved
to hope that he would pay me when he had the power to do so. But
when I observed that things went quite the contrary way, and saw
that I was being pillaged, I lost temper with the man, and recalled
to his memory hotly and in anger what he had declared he would
be if he did not pay me. However, he died; and five hundred crowns
are still owing to me at the present date, which is nigh upon the
end of I566. 158 There was also a balance due upon my salary, which
I thought would be forgotten, since three years had elapsed without
payment. But it so happened that the Duke fell ill of a serious
malady, remaining forty-eight hours without passing water. Finding
that the remedies of his physicians availed nothing, it is probable
that he betook himself to God, and therefore decreed the discharge
of all debts to his servants. I too was paid on this occasion, yet I
never obtained what still stood out upon my Perseus.
XCVII
I HAD ALMOST DETERMINED to say nothing more about that unlucky
Perseus; but a most remarkable incident, which I do not like to
omit, obliges me to do so; wherefore I must now turn back a bit,
to gather up the thread of my narration. I thought I was acting for
the best when I told the Duchess that I could not compromise
affairs which were no longer in my hands, seeing I had informed
the Duke that I should gladly accept whatever he chose to give
me. I said this in the hope of gaining favour; and with this mani-
festation of submissiveness I employed every likely means of
pacifying his resentment; for I ought to add that a few days before
he came to terms with Albizzi, the Duke had shown he was ex-
cessively displeased with me. The reason was as follows: I com-
plained of some abominable acts of injustice done to me by Messer
Alfonso Quistelli, Messer Jacopo Polverino of the Exchequer, and
more than all by Ser Giovanbattista Brandini of Volterra. When,
therefore, I set forth my cause with some vehemence, the Duke
flew into the greatest rage conceivable. Being thus in anger, he ex-
claimed: "This is just the same as with your Perseus, when you
asked those ten thousand crowns. You let yourself be blinded by
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
mere cupidity. Therefore I shall have the statue valued, and shall
give you what the experts think it worth." To these words I replied
with too much daring and a touch of indignation, which is always
out of place in dealing with great princes: "How is it possible that
my work should be valued at its proper worth when there is not
a man in Florence capable of performing it?" That increased his
irritation; he uttered many furious phrases, and among them said:
"There is in Florence at this day a man well able to make such a
statue, and who is therefore highly capable of judging it." He meant
Bandinello, Cavaliere of S. Jacopo. 154 Then I rejoined: "My lord,
your most illustrious Excellency gave me the means of producing
an important and very difficult masterpiece in the midst of this
the noblest school of the world; and my work has been received
with warmer praises than any other heretofore exposed before the
gaze of our incomparable masters. My chief pride is the commenda-
tion of those able men who both understand and practise the arts of
design as in particular Bronzino, the painter; this man set himself
to work, and composed four sonnets couched in the choicest style,
and full of honour to myself. Perhaps it was his example which
moved the whole city to such a tumult of enthusiasm. I freely admit
that if sculpture were his business instead of painting, then Bronzino
might have been equal to a task like mine. Michel Agnolo Buonar-
roti, again, whom I am proud to call my master; he, I admit, could
have achieved the same success when he was young, but not with
less fatigue and trouble than I endured. But now that he is far
advanced in years, he would most certainly be found unequal to the
strain. Therefore I think I am justified in saying that no man known
upon this earth could have produced my Perseus. For the rest, my
work has received the greatest reward I could have wished for in
this world; chiefly and especially because your most illustrious Ex-
cellency not only expressed yourself satisfied, but praised it far more
highly than any one beside. What greater and more honourable prize
could be desired by me? I affirm most emphatically that your Ex-
cellency could not pay me with more glorious coin, nor add from
any treasury a wealth surpassing this. Therefore I hold myself over-
paid already, and return thanks to your most illustrious Excellency
with all my heart." The Duke made answer: "Probably you think I
have not the money to pay you. For my part, I promise you that I
shall pay you more for the statue than it is worth." Then I retorted:
"I did not picture to my fancy any better recompense from your
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Excellency; yet I account myself amply remunerated by that first
reward which the school of Florence gave me. With this to console
me, I shall take my departure on the instant, without returning to
the house you gave me, and shall never seek to set my foot in this
town again." We were just at S. Felicita, and his Excellency was pro-
ceeding to the palace. When he heard these choleric words, he turned
upon me in stern anger and exclaimed: "You shall not go;. take heed
you do not go!" Half terrified, I then followed him to the palace.
On arriving there, his Excellency sent for the Archbishop of Pisa,
named De' Bartolini, and Messer Pandolfo della Stufa, 155 requesting
them to order Baccio Bandinelli, in his name, to examine well my
Perseus and value it, since he wished to pay its exact price. These
excellent men went forthwith and performed their embassy. In
reply Bandinello said that he had examined the statue minutely, and
knew well enough what it was worth; but having been on bad terms
otherwise with me for some time past, he did not care to be en-
tangled anyhow in my affairs. Then they began to put a gentle
pressure on him, saying: "The Duke ordered us to tell you, under
pain of his displeasure, that you are to value the statue, and you may
have two or three days to consider your estimate. When you have
done so, tell us at what price it ought to be paid." He answered that
his judgment was already formed, that he could not disobey the
Duke, and that my work was rich and beautiful and excellent in
execution; therefore he thought sixteen thousand crowns or more
would not be an excessive price for it. Those good and courteous
gentlemen reported this to the Duke, who was mightily enraged;
they also told the same to me. I replied that nothing in the world
would induce me to take praise from Bandinello, "seeing that this
bad man speaks ill of everybody." My words were carried to the
Duke; and that was the reason why the Duchess wanted me to place
the matter in her hands. All that I have written is the pure truth. I
will only add that I ought to have trusted to her intervention, for
then I should have been quickly paid, and should have received so
much more into the bargain.
XCVIII
THE DUKE sent me word by Messer Lelio Torello, 1 " his Master of
the Rolls, 187 that he wanted me to execute some bas-reliefs in bronze
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for the choir of S. Maria del Fiore. Now the choir was by Ban-
dinello, and I did not choose to enrich his bad work with my labours.
He had not indeed designed it, for he understood nothing whatever
about architecture; the design was given by Giuliano, the son of that
Baccio d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, who spoiled the cupola. 158 Suffice
it to say that it shows no talent. For both reasons I was determined
not to undertake the task, although I told the Duke politely that I
would do whatever his most illustrious Excellency ordered. Ac-
cordingly, he put the matter into the hands of the Board of Works
for S. Maria del Fiore, 159 telling them to come to an agreement
with me; he would continue my allowance of two hundred crowns
a year, while they were to supply the rest out of their funds.
In due course I came before the Board, and they told me what the
Duke had arranged. Feeling that I could explain my views more
frankly to these gentlemen, I began by demonstrating that so many
histories in bronze would cost a vast amount of money, which would
be totally thrown away, giving all my reasons, which they fully
appreciated. In the first place, I said that the construction of the
choir was altogether incorrect, without proportion, art, conven-
ience, grace, or good design. In the next place, the bas-reliefs would
have to stand too low, beneath the proper line of vision; they would
become a place for dogs to piss at, and be always full of ordure.
Consequently, I declined positively to execute them. However,
since I did not wish to throw away the best years of my life, and
was eager to serve his most illustrious Excellency, whom I had
the sincerest desire to gratify and obey, I made the following pro-
posal. Let the Duke, if he wants to employ my talents, give me
the middle door of the cathedral to perform in bronze. This would
be well seen, and would confer far more glory on his most illustrious
Excellency. I would bind myself by contract to receive no remunera-
tion unless I produced something better than the finest of the
Baptistery doors. 160 But if I completed it according to my promise,
then I was willing to have it valued, and to be paid one thousand
crowns less than the estimate made by the experts.
The members of the Board were well pleased with this suggestion,
and went at once to report the matter to the Duke, among them
being Piero Salviati. They expected him to be extremely gratified
with their communication, but it turned out just the contrary. He
replied that I was always wanting to do the exact opposite of what
he bade me; and so Piero left him without coming to any conclu-
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
sion. On hearing this, I went off to the Duke at once, who displayed
some irritation when he saw me. However, I begged him to conde-
scend to hear me, and he replied that he was willing. I then began
from the beginning, and used such convincing arguments that he
saw at last how the matter really stood, since I made it evident that
he would only be throwing a large sum of money away. Then I
softened his temper by suggesting that if his most illustrious Ex-
cellency did not care to have the door begun, two pulpits had any-
how to be made for the choir, and that these would both of them
be considerable works, which would confer glory on his reign; for
my part, I was ready to execute a number of bronze bas-reliefs with
appropriate decorations. In this way I brought him round, and he
gave me orders to construct the models.
Accordingly I set at work on several models, and bestowed im-
mense pains on them. Among these there was one with eight panels,
carried out with far more science than the rest, and which seemed
to me more fitted for the purpose. Having taken them several times
to the palace, his Excellency sent word by Messer Cesare, the keeper
of his wardrobe, that I should leave them there. After the Duke
had inspected them, I perceived that he had selected the least beau-
tiful. One day he sent for me, and during our conversation about
the models, I gave many reasons why the octagonal pulpit would
be far more convenient for its destined uses, and would produce a
much finer effect. He answered that he wished me to make it
square, because he liked that form better; and thus he went on
conversing for some time very pleasantly. I meanwhile lost no op-
portunity of saying everything I could in the interests of art. Now
whether the Duke knew that I had spoken the truth, or whether he
wanted to have his own way, a long time passed before I heard any-
thing more about it.
XCIX
ABOUT THIS TIME the great block of marble arrived which was in-
tended for the Neptune. It had been brought up the Arno, and then
by die Grieve 161 to the road at Poggio a Caiano, in order to be carried
to Florence by that level way; and there I went to see it. Now I
knew very well that the Duchess by her especial influence had
managed to have it given to Bandinello. No envy prompted me to
dispute his claims, but rather pity for that poor unfortunate piece
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
of marble. Observe, by the way, that everything, whatever it may
be, which is subject to an evil destiny, although one tries to save it
from some manifest evil, falls at once into far worse plight; as hap-
pened to this marble when it came into the hands of Bartolommeo
Ammanato, 162 of whom I shall speak the truth in its proper place.
After inspecting this most splendid block, I measured it in every
direction, and on returning to Florence, made several little models
suited to its proportions. Then I went to Poggio a Caiano, where
the Duke and Duchess were staying, with their son the Prince. I
found them all at table, the Duke and Duchess dining in a private
apartment; so I entered into conversation with the Prince. We had
been speaking for a long while, when the Duke, who was in a
room adjacent, heard my voice, and condescended very graciously
to send for me. When I presented myself before their Excellencies,
the Duchess addressed me in a very pleasant tone; and having thus
opened the conversation, I gradually introduced the subject of that
noble block of marble I had seen. I then proceeded to remark that
their ancestors had brought the magnificent school of Florence to
such a pitch of excellence only by stimulating competition among
artists in their several branches. It was thus that the wonderful cupola
and the lovely doors of San Giovanni had been produced, together
with those multitudes of handsome edifices and statues which made
a crown of artistic glory for their city above anything the world
had seen since the days of the ancients. Upon this the Duchess, with
some anger, observed that she very well knew what I meant, and
bade me never mention that block of marble in her presence, since
she did not like it. I replied: "So then, you do not like me to act as
the attorney of your Excellencies, and to do my utmost to ensure
your being better served? Reflect upon it, my lady; if your most
illustrious Excellencies think fit to open the model for a Neptune
to competition, although you are resolved to give it to Bandinello,
this will urge Bandinello for his own credit to display greater art
and science than if he knew he had no rivals. In this way, my
princes, you will be far better served, and will not discourage our
school of artists; you will be able to perceive which of us is eager
to excel in the grand style of our noble calling, and will show your-
selves princes who enjoy and understand the fine arts." The Duchess,
in a great rage, told me that I tired her patience out; she wanted
the marble for Bandinello, adding: "Ask the Duke; for his Ex-
cellency also means Bandinello to have it." When the Duchess had
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVEKUTO CELLINI
spoken, the Duke, who had kept silence up to this time, said:
"Twenty years ago I had that fine block quarried especially for
Bandinello, and so I mean that Bandinello shall have it to do what
he likes with it.** I turned to the Duke and spoke as follows: "My
lord, I entreat your most illustrious Excellency to lend a patient
hearing while I speak four words in your service." He told me to say
all I wanted, and that he would listen. Then I began: "You will re-
member, my lord, that the marble which Bandinello used for his
Hercules and Cacus was quarried for our incomparable Michel
Agnolo Buonarroti. He had made the model for a Samson with
four figures, which would have been the finest masterpiece in the
whole world; but your Bandinello got out of it only two figures,
both ill-executed and bungled in the worst manner; wherefore
our school still exclaims against the great wrong which was done to
that magnificent block. I believe that more than a thousand sonnets
were put up in abuse of that detestable performance; and I know
that your most illustrious Excellency remembers the fact very well.
Therefore, my powerful prince, seeing how the men to whose care
that work was entrusted, in their want of taste and wisdom, took
Michel Agnolo's marble away from him, and gave it to Bandinello,
who spoilt it in the way the whole world knows, oh! will you
suffer this far more splendid block, although it belongs to Bandinello,
to remain in the hands of that man who cannot help mangling it,
instead of giving it to some artist of talent capable of doing it full
justice? Arrange, my lord, that everyone who likes shall make a
model; have them all exhibited to the school; you then will hear what
the school thinks; your own good judgment will enable you to
select the best; in this way, finally, you will not throw away your
money, nor discourage a band of artists the like of whom is not to
be found at present in the world, and who form the glory of your
most illustrious Excellency."
The Duke listened with the utmost graciousness; then he rose
from table, and turning to me, said: "Go, my Benvenuto, make a
model, and earn that fine marble for yourself; for what you say is the
truth, and I acknowledge it." The Duchess tossed her head defiantly,
and muttered I know not what angry sentences.
I made them a respectful bow and returned to Florence, burning
with eagerness to set hands upon my model.
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
WHEN THE DUKE came to Florence, he sought me at my house with-
out giving me previous notice. I showed him two little models of
different design. Though he praised them both, he said that one of
them pleased him better than the other; I was to finish the one he
liked with care; and this would be to my advantage. Now his Excel-
lency had already seen Bandinello's designs, and those of other sculp-
tors; but, as I was informed by many of his courtiers who had heard
him, he commended mine far above the rest. Among other matters
worthy of record and of great weight upon this point, I will mention
the following. The Cardinal of Santa Fiore was on a visit to Flor-
ence, and the Duke took him to Poggio a Caiano. Upon the road,
noticing the marble as he passed, the Cardinal praised it highly,
inquiring of his Excellency for what sculptor he intended it. The
Duke replied at once: "For my friend Benvenuto, who has made a
splendid model with a view to it." This was reported to me by men
whom I could trust.
Hearing what the Duke had said, I went to the Duchess, and took
her some small bits of goldsmith's work, which greatly pleased her
Excellency. Then she asked what I was doing, and I replied: "My
lady, I have taken in hand for my pleasure one of the most laborious
pieces which have ever been produced. It is a Christ of the whitest
marble set upon a cross of the blackest, exactly of the same size as
a tall man." She immediately inquired what I meant to do with it.
I answered: "You must know, my lady, that I would not sell it for
two thousand golden ducats; it is of such difficult execution that I
think no man ever attempted the like before; nor would I have
undertaken it at the commission of any prince whatever, for fear I
might prove inadequate to the task. I bought the marbles with my
own money, and have kept a young man some two years as my
assistant in the work. What with the stone, the iron frame to hold
it up, and the wages, it has cost me above three hundred crowns.
Consequently, I would not sell it for two thousand. But if your
Excellency deigns to grant me a favour which is wholly blameless,
I shall be delighted to make you a present of it. All I ask is that your
Excellency will not use your influence either against or for the
models which the Duke has ordered to be made of the Neptune for
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
that great block of marble." She replied with mighty indignation:
"So then you value neither my help nor my opposition?" "On the
contrary, I value them highly, princess; or why am I offering to give
you what I value at two thousand ducats? But I have such confi-
dence in my laborious and well-trained studies, that I hope to win
the palm, even against the great Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, from
whom and from no one else I have learned all that I know. Indeed,
I should be much better pleased to enter into competition with him
who knows so much than with those others who know but little of
their art. Contending with my sublime master, I could gain laurels in
plenty, whereas there are but few to be reaped in a contest with
these men." After I had spoken, she rose in a half-angry mood, and
I returned to work with all the strength I had upon my m6del.
When it was finished, the Duke came to see it, bringing with him
two ambassadors, one from the Duke of Ferrara, the other from the
Signory of Lucca. They were delighted, and the Duke said to those
two gentlemen: "Upon my word, Benvenuto deserves to have the
marble." Then they both paid me the highest compliments, especially
the envoy from Lucca, who was a person of accomplishments and
learning. 168 1 had retired to some distance in order that they might
exchange opinions freely; but when I heard that I was being compli-
mented, I came up, turned to the Duke, and said: "My lord, your
most illustrious Excellency ought now to employ another admirable
device: decree that every one who likes shall make a model in clay,
exactly of the same size as the marble has to be. In this way you will
be able to judge far better who deserves the commission; and I may
observe that if your Excellency does not give it to the sculptor who
deserves it, this will not wrong the man so much, but will reflect
great discredit upon yourself, since the loss and shame will fall on
you. On the other hand, if you award it to the one who has deserved
it, you will acquire great glory in the first place, and will employ
your treasure well, while artists will believe that you appreciate and
understand their business." No sooner had I finished speaking than
the Duke shrugged his shoulders, and began to move away. While
they were taking leave, the ambassador of Lucca said to the Duke:
"Prince, this Benvenuto of yours is a terrible man!" The Duke re-
sponded: "He is much more terrible than you imagine, and well
were it for him if he were a little less terrible; then he would possess
at the present moment many things which he has not got." These
precise words were reported to me by the envoy, by way of chiding
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
and advising me to change my conduct. I told him that I had the
greatest wish to oblige my lord as his affectionate and faithful serv-
ant, but that I did not understand the arts of flattery. Several months
after this date, Bandinello died; and it was thought that, in addition
to his intemperate habits of life, the mortification of having probably
to lose the marble contributed to his decline.
CI
BANDINELLO had received information of the crucifix which, as I
have said above, I was now engaged upon. Accordingly he laid his
hands at once upon a block of marble, and produced the Pieta which
may be seen in the Church of the Annunziata. Now I had offered
my crucifix to S. Maria Novella, and had already fixed up the iron
clamps whereby I meant to fasten it against the wall. I only asked
for permission to construct a little sarcophagus upon the ground be-
neath the feet of Christ, into which I might creep when I was dead.
The friars told me that they could not grant this without the consent
of their building committee. 164 I replied: "Good brethren, why did
not you consult your committee before you allowed me to place my
crucifix? Without their leave you suffered me to fix my clamps and
other necessary fittings."
On this account I refused to give those fruits of my enormous
labours to the Church of S. Maria Novella, even though the overseers
of the fabric came and begged me for the crucifix. I turned at once
to the Church of the Annunziata, and when I explained the terms on
which I had sought to make a present of it to S. Maria Novella, those
virtuous friars of the Nunziata unanimously told me to place it in
their church, and let me make my grave according to my will and
pleasure. When Bandinello became aware of this, he set to work
with great diligence at the completion of his Pieta, and prayed the
Duchess to get for him the chapel of the Pazzi for his monument.
This he obtained with some difficulty; and on receiving the permis-
sion, he erected his Pieta with great haste. It was not altogether com-
pleted when he died.
The Duchess then said that, even as she had protected him in life,
so would she protect him in the grave, and that albeit he was dead,
I need never try to get that block of marble. Apropos of which, the
broker Bernardone, meeting me one day in the country, said that the
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Duchess had assigned the marble. I replied: "Unhappy piece of stone!
In the hands of Bandinello it would certainly have come to grief;
but in those of Ammanato its fate is a hundred times worse." Now
I had received orders from the Duke to make a clay model, of the
same size as the marble would allow; he also provided me with wood
and clay, set up a sort of screen in the Loggia where my Perseus
stands, and paid me one workman. I went about my business with
all diligence, and constructed the wooden framework according to
my excellent system. Then I brought the model successfully to a
conclusion, without caring whether I should have to execute it in
marble, since I knew the Duchess was resolved I should not get the
commission. Consequently I paid no heed to that. Only I felt very
glad to undergo this labour, hoping to make the Duchess, who was
after all a person of intelligence, as indeed I had the means of observ-
ing at a later period, repent of having done so great a wrong both
to the marble and herself. Giovanni the Fleming also made a model
in the cloister of S. Croce; Vinzenzio Danti of Perugia another in the
house of Messer Ottaviano de' Medici; the son of Moschino began
a third at Pisa, and Bartolommeo Ammanato a fourth in the Loggia,
which we divided between us. 105
When I had blocked the whole of mine out well, and wanted to
begin upon the details of the head, which I had already sketched
out in outline, the Duke came down from the palace, and Giorgetto,
the painter, 166 took him into Ammanato's workshed. This man had
been engaged there with his own hands several days, in company
with Ammanato and all his work-people. While, then, the Duke was
inspecting Ammanato's model, I received intelligence that he seemed
but little pleased with it. In spite of Giorgetto's trying to dose him
with his fluent nonsense, the Duke shook his head, and turning to
Messer Gianstefano, 167 exclaimed: "Go and ask Benvenuto if his
colossal statue is far enough forward for him to gratify us with a
glance at it." Messer Gianstefano discharged this embassy with great
tact, and in the most courteous terms. He added that if I did not
think my work quite ready to be seen yet, I might say so frankly,
since the Duke knew well that I had enjoyed but little assistance for
so large an undertaking. I replied that I entreated him to do me the
favour of coming; for though my model was not far advanced, yet
the intelligence of his Excellency would enable him to comprehend
perfectly how it was likely to look when finished This kindly
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
gentleman took back my message to the Duke, who came with
pleasure. No sooner had he entered the enclosure and cast his eyes
upon my work, than he gave signs of being greatly satisfied. Then
he walked all round it, stopping at each of the four points of view,
exactly as the ripest expert would have done. Afterwards he showed
by nods and gestures of approval that it pleased him; but he said no
more than this: "Benvenuto, you have only to give a little surface
to your statue." Then he turned to his attendants, praising my per-
formance, and saying: "The small model which I saw in his house
pleased me greatly, but this has far exceeded it in merit."
CII
IT PLEASED GOD, who rules all things for our good I mean, for those
who acknowledge and believe in Him; such men never fail to gain
His protection that about this time a certain rascal from Vecchio
called Piermaria d'Anterigoli, and surnamed Lo Sbietta, introduced
himself to me. He is a sheep-grazier; and being closely related to
Messer Guido Guidi, the physician, who is now provost of Pescia,
I lent ear to his proposals. The man offered to sell me a farm of his
for the term of my natural life. I did not care to go and see it, since
I wanted to complete the model of my colossal Neptune. There was
also no reason why I should visit the property, because Sbietta only
sold it to me for the income. 168 This he had noted down at so many
bushels of grain, so much of wine, oil, standing corn, chestnuts, and
other produce. I reckoned that, as the market then ran, these together
were worth something considerably over a hundred golden crowns
in gold; and I paid him 650 crowns, which included duties to the
state. Consequently, when he left a memorandum written in his own
hand, to the effect that he would always keep up these products
of the farm in the same values during my lifetime, I did not think it
necessary to inspect it. Only I made inquiries, to the best of my abil-
ity, as to whether Sbietta and his brother Ser Filippo were well off
enough to give me good security. Many persons, of divers sorts, who
knew them, assured me that my security was excellent. We agreed
to call in Ser Pierf rancesco Bertoldi, notary at the Mercantanzia; and
at the very first I handed him Sbietta's memorandum, expecting that
this would be recited in the deed. But the notary who drew it up
was so occupied with detailing twenty-two boundaries described by
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Sbietta, 160 that, so far as I can judge, he neglected to include in the
contract what the vendor had proposed to furnish. While he was
writing, I went on working; and since it took him several hours, I
finished a good piece of my Neptune's head.
After the contract was signed and sealed, Sbietta began to pay
me the most marked attentions, which I returned in like measure.
He made me presents of kids, cheese, capons, fresh curds, and many
sorts of fruit, until I began to be almost ashamed of so much kind-
ness. In exchange for these courtesies, I always took him from the
inn to lodge with me when he came into Florence, often inviting a
relative or two who happened to attend him. On one of these occa-
sions he told me with a touch of pleasantry that it was really shame-
ful for me to have bought a farm, and, after the lapse of so many
weeks, not yet to have left my business for three days in the hands
of my work-people, so as to have come to look at it. His wheedling
words and ways induced me to set off, in a bad hour for my welfare,
on a visit to him. Sbietta received me in his own house with such
attentions and such honours as a duke might covet. His wife caressed
me even more than he did; and these excellent relations continued
between us until the plans which he and his brother Ser Filippo had
in mind were fully matured.
CIII
MEANWHILE I did hot suspend my labours on the Neptune, which
was now quite blocked out upon an excellent system, undiscovered
and unknown before I used it. Consequently, although I knew I
should not get the marble for the reasons above narrated, I hoped to
have it soon completed, and to display it on the piazza simply for my
satisfaction.
It was a warm and pleasant season; and this, together with the
attentions of those two rascals, disposed me to set out one Wednes-
day, which happened to be a double holiday, for my country-house
at Trespiano. 170 Having spent some time over an excellent lunch, it
was past twenty o'clock when I reached Vicchio. There, at the
town-gate, I met Ser Filippo, who appeared to know already whither
1 was bound. He loaded me with attentions, and took me to Sbietta's
house, where I found that fellow's strumpet of a wife, who also over-
whelmed me with caresses. I gave the woman a straw hat of the very
{402]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
finest texture, the like of which she told me she had never seen. Still,
up to this time, Sbietta had not put in his appearance.
Toward the end of the afternoon we all sat down to supper in
excellent spirits. Later on, they gave me a well-appointed bedroom,
where I went to rest in a bed of the most perfect cleanliness. Both
of my servants, according to their rank, were equally well treated*
On the morrow, when I rose, the same attentions were paid me. i
went to see my farm, which pleased me much; and then I had some
quantities of grain and other produce handed over. But when I re-
turned to Vicchio, the priest Ser Filippo said to me: "Benvenuto,
do not be uneasy; although you have not found here quite every-
thing you had the right to look for, yet put your mind to rest; it
will be amply made up in the future, for you have to deal with
honest folk: You ought, by the way, to know that we have sent that
labourer away, because he was a scoundrel." The labourer in ques-
tion bore the name of Mariano Rosegli; and this man now kept fre-
quently repeating in my ear: "Look well after yourself; in the end
you will discover which of us here is the greatest villain." The
country-fellow, when he spoke those words, smiled with an evil kind
of sneer, and jerked his head as though to say: "Only go up there,
and you will find out for yourself."
I was to some extent unfavourably influenced by these hints, yet
far from forming a conception of what actually happened to me.
So, when I returned from the farm, which is two miles distant from
Vicchio, toward the Alpi, 171 I met the priest, who was waiting for
me with his customary politeness. We then sat down together to
breakfast; it was not so much a dinner as an excellent collation. After-
wards I took a walk through Vicchio the market had just opened
and noticed how all the inhabitants fixed their eyes upon me, as
on something strange. This struck me particularly in the case of a
worthy old man, who has been living for many years at Vicchio,
and whose wife bakes bread for sale. He owns some good property
at the distance of about a mile; however, he prefers this mode of life,
and occupies a house which belongs to me in the town of Vicchio.
This had been consigned to me together with the farm above men-
tioned, which bears the name of Delia Fonte. The worthy old man
spoke as follows: "I am living in your house, and when it falls due
I shall pay you your rent; but if you want it earlier, I will act accord*
ing to your wishes. You may reckon on never having any disputes
with me." While we were thus talking I noticed that he looked me
[403!
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
hard in the face, which compelled me to address him thus: "Prithee,
tell me, friend Giovanni, why you have more than once stared at me
in that way?" He replied: "I am quite willing to tell you, if, being
the man of worth I take you for, you will promise not to say that I
have told you." I gave the promise and he proceeded: "You must
know then that that worthless priest, Ser Filippo, not many days
since, went about boasting of his brother Sbietta's cleverness, and
telling how he had sold his farm to an old man for his lifetime, and
that the purchaser could hardly live the year out. You have got
mixed up with a set of rogues; therefore take heed to living as long
as you are able, and keep your eyes open, for you have need of it.
I do not choose to say more."
CIV
DURING MY PROMENADE through the market, I met Giovan Battista
Santini, and he and I were taken back to supper by the priest. As
I have related above, we supped at the early hour of twenty, because
I made it known that I meant to return to Trespiano. Accordingly
they made all ready; the wife of Sbietta went bustling about in the
company of one Cecchino Bud, their knave of all work. After the
salads had been mixed and we were preparing to sit down to table,
that evil priest, with a certain nasty sort of grin, exclaimed: "I must
beg you to excuse me, for I cannot sup with you; the reason is that
some business of importance has occurred which I must transact for
my brother Sbietta. In his absence I am obliged to act for him." We
all begged him to stay, but could not alter his determination; so he
departed and we began our supper. After we had eaten the salads
on some common platters, and they were preparing to serve the
boiled meat, each guest received a porringer for himself. Santini,
who was seated opposite me at table, exclaimed: "Do you notice that
the crockery they give you is different from the rest? Did you ever
see anything handsomer?" I answered that I had not noticed it. He
also prayed me to invite Sbietta's wife to sit down with us; for she
and that Cecchino Buti kept running hither and thither in the most
extraordinary fuss and hurry* At last I induced the woman to join
us; when she began to remonstrate: "You do not like my victuals,
since you eat so little." I answered by praising the supper over and
over again, and saying that I had never eaten better or with heartier
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
appetite. Finally, I told her that I had eaten quite enough. I could
not imagine why she urged me so persistently to eat. After supper
was over, and it was past the hour of twenty-one, I became anxious
to return to Trespiano, in order that I might recommence my work
next morning in the Loggia. Accordingly I bade farewell to all the
company, and having thanked our hostess, took my leave.
I had not gone three miles before I felt as though my stomach was
on fire, and suffered such pain that it seemed a thousand years till
I arrived at Trespiano. However, it pleased God that I reached it
after nightfall with great toil, and immediately proceeded to my
farm, where I went to bed. During the night I got no sleep, and was
constantly disturbed by motions of my bowels. When day broke,
feeling an intense heat in the rectum, I looked eagerly to see what
this might mean, and found the cloth covered with blood. Then in
a moment I conceived that I had eaten something poisonous, and
racked my brains to think what it could possibly have been. It came
back to my memory how Sbietta's wife had set before me plates, and
porringers, and saucers different from the others, and how that evil
priest, Sbietta's brother, after giving himself such pains to do me
honour, had yet refused to sup with us. Furthermore, I remem-
bered what the priest had said about Sbietta's doing such a fine
stroke of business by the sale of his farm to an old man for life, who
could not be expected to survive a year. Giovanni Sardella had re-
ported these words to me. All things considered, I made my mind
up that they must have administered a dose of sublimate in the sauce,
which was very well made and pleasant to the taste, inasmuch as
sublimate produces all the symptoms I was suffering from. Now it is
my custom to take but little sauce or seasoning with my meat, ex-
cepting salt; and yet I had eaten two moderate mouthfuls of that
sauce because it was so tasteful. On further thinking, I recollected
how often that wife of Sbietta had teased me in a hundred ways to
partake more freely of the sauce. On these accounts I felt absolutely
certain that they had given me sublimate in that very dish.
CV
ALBEIT i WAS SUFFERING so severely, I forced myself to work upon
my Colossus in the Loggia; but after a few days I succumbed to the
malady and took to my bed. No sooner did the Duchess hear that
[405!
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I was ill, than she caused the execution of that unlucky marble to
be assigned to Bartolommeo Ammanato. 172 He sent word to me
through Messer .... living in .... Street, that I might now do
what I liked with my model since he had won the marble. This
Messer .... was one of the lovers of Bartolommeo Aminanato's
wife; and being the most favoured on account of his gentle manners
and discretion, Ammanato made things easy for him. There would
be much to say upon this topic; however, I do not care to imitate
his master, Bandinello, who always wandered from the subject in his
talk. Suffice it to say that I told Ammanato's messenger I had always
imagined it would turn out thus; let the man strain himself to the
utmost in proof of gratitude to Fortune for so great a favour so
undeservedly conferred on him by her.
All this while I stayed with sorry cheer in bed, and was attended
by that most excellent man and physician Maestro Francesco da
Montevarchi. Together with him Maestro Raffaello de' Pilli under-
took the surgical part of my case, forasmuch as the sublimate had
so corroded the intestines that I was unable to retain my motions.
When Maestro Francesco saw that the poison had exerted all its
strength, being indeed insufficient in quantity to overcome my
vigorous constitution, he said one day: "Benvenuto, return thanks
to God, for you have won the battle. Have no anxiety, since I mean
to cure you in spite of the rogues who sought to work your ruin."
Maestro Raffaello then put in: "This will be one of the finest and
most difficult cures which was ever heard of; for I can tell you, Ben-
venuto, that you swallowed a good mouthful of sublimate." There-
upon Maestro Francesco took him up and said: "It may possibly
have been some venomous caterpillar." I replied: "I know for certain
what sort of poison it was, and who gave it to me"; upon which we
all were silent. They attended me more than six full months, and I
remained more than a whole year before I could enjoy my life and
vigour.
CVI
AT THIS TIME 178 the Duke went to make his triumphal entry into
Siena, and Ammanato had gone there some months earlier to con-
struct the arches. A bastard of his, who stayed behind in the Loggia,
removed the cloths with which I kept my model of Neptune covered
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
until it should be finished. As soon as I knew this, I complained to
Signer Don Francesco, the Duke's son, who was kindly disposed
toward me, and told him how they had disclosed my still imperfect
statue; had it been finished, I should not have given the fact a
thought. The Prince replied with a threatening toss of his head:
"Benvenuto, do not mind your statue having been uncovered, be-
cause these men are only working against themselves; yet if you want
me to have it covered up, I will do so at once." He added many
other words in my honour before a crowd of gentlemen who were
there. I then begged his Excellency to give me the necessary means
for finishing it, saying that I meant to make a present of it together
with the little model to his Highness. He replied that he gladly
accepted both gifts, and that he would have all the conveniences I
asked for put at my disposal. Thus, then, I fed upon this trifling
mark of favour, which, in fact, proved the salvation of my life; for
having been overwhelmed by so many evils and such great annoy-
ances all at one fell swoop, I felt my forces failing; but this little
gleam of encouragement inspired me with some hope of living.
CVII
A YEAR HAD NOW PASSED since I bought the farm of Delia Fonte from
Sbietta. In addition to their attempt upon my life by poisoning and
their numerous robberies, I noticed that the property yielded less
than half what had been promised. Now, in addition to the deeds of
contract, I had a declaration written by Sbietta's own hand, in which
he bound himself before witnesses to pay me over the yearly income
I have mentioned. Armed with these documents, I had recourse to
the Lords Counsellors. At that time Messer Alfonso Quistello was
still alive and Chancellor of the Exchequer; he sat upon the Board,
which included Averardo Serristori and Federigo de' Ricci. I cannot
remember the names of all of them, but I know that one of the Ales-
sandri was a member. Suffice it to say, the counsellors of that session
were men of weight and worth. When I had explained my cause
to the magistracy, they all with one voice ruled that Sbietta should
give me back my money, except Federigo de 1 Ricci, who was then
employing the fellow himself; the others unanimously expressed sor-
row to me that Federigo de' Ricci prevented them from despatching
the affair. Averardo Serristori and Alessandri in particular made a
[407!
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
tremendous stir about it, but Federigo managed to protect matters
until the magistracy went out of office; whereupon Serristori, meet-
ing me one morning after they had come out upon the Piazza delF
Annunziata, cried aloud, without the least regard to consequences:
"Federigo de' Ricci has been so much stronger than all of us put
together that you have been massacred against our will." I do not
intend to say more upon this topic, since it would be too offensive
to the supreme authorities of state; enough that I was cruelly
wronged at the will of a rich citizen, only because he made use of
that shepherd-fellow.
CVIII
THE DUKE was staying at Livorno, where I went to visit him in order
merely to obtain release from his service. Now that I felt my vigour
returning, and saw that I was used for nothing, it pained me to lose
time which ought to have been spent upon my art. I made my mind
up, therefore, went to Livorno, and found my prince, who received
me with exceeding graciousness. Now I stayed there several days,
and went out riding daily with his Excellency. Consequently I had
excellent opportunities for saying all I wanted, since it was the
Duke's custom to ride four miles out of Livorno along the sea-coast
to the point where he was erecting a litde fort. Not caring to be
troubled with a crowd of people, he liked me to converse with him.
So then, on one of these occasions, having observed him pay me
some remarkable attentions, I entered into the affair of Sbietta and
spoke as follows: "My lord, I should like to narrate to your most
illustrious Excellency a very singular incident, which will explain
why I was prevented from finishing that clay model of Neptune on
which I was working in the Loggia. Your Excellency must know that
I bought a farm for my life from Sbietta" To cut the matter short,
I related the whole story in detail, without contaminating truth with
falsehood. Now when I came to the poison, I remarked that if I had
ever proved an acceptable servant in the sight of his most illustrious
Excellency, he ought not to punish Sbietta or those who administered
die poison, but rather to confer upon them some great benefit, inas-
much as the poison was not enough to kill me, but had exactly suf-
ficed to cleanse me of a mortal viscosity from which I suffered in
my stomach and intestines. "The poison," quoth I, "worked so well,
that whereas, before I took it, I had perhaps but three or four years
[408]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
to live, I verily believe now that it has helped me to more than
twenty years by bettering my constitution. For this mercy I return
thanks to God with greater heartiness than ever; and this proves that
a proverb I have sometimes heard spoken is true, which runs as fol-
lows: 'God send us evil that may work us good.' "
The Duke listened to my story through more than two miles of
travel, keeping his attention fixed, and only uttering: "Oh, the vil-
lains!" I said, in conclusion, that I felt obliged to them, and opened
other and more cheerful subjects of conversation.
I kept upon the look-out for a convenient day; and when I found
him well disposed for what I wanted, I entreated his most illustrious
Excellency to dismiss me in a friendly spirit, so that I might not have
to waste the few years in which I should be fit to do anything. As
for the balance due upon my Perseus, he might give this to me when
he judged it opportune. Such was the pith of my discourse: but I
expanded it with lengthy compliments, expressing my gratitude
toward his most illustrious Excellency. To all this he made absolutely
no answer, but rather seemed to have taken my communication ill.
On the following day Messer Bartolommeo Concino, 174 one of the
Duke's secretaries, and among the chief est, came to me, and said with
somewhat of a bullying air: "The Duke bids me tell you that if you
want your dismissal, he will grant it; but if you choose work, he will
give you plenty: God grant you may have the power to execute all
he orders." I replied that I desired nothing more than work to do,
and would rather take it from the Duke than from any man what-
ever in the world. Whether they were popes, emperors, or kings, I
should prefer to serve his most illustrious Excellency for a halfpenny
than any of the rest of them for a ducat. He then remarked: "If that
is your mind, you and he have struck a bargain without the need
of further speech. So, then, go back to Florence, and be uncon-
cerned; rely on the Duke's good-will towards you." Accordingly I
made my way again to Florence.
CIX
IMMEDIATELY AFTER MY ARRIVAL, there came to visit me a certain
Raffaellone Scheggia, whose trade was that of a cloth-of-gold
weaver. He began thus: "My Benvenuto, I should like to reconcile
you with Piermaria Sbietta," I replied that nobody could settle the
[409!
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
affairs between us except the Lords Counsellors; in the present court
Sbietta would not have a Federigo de' Ricci to support him, a man
willing, for the bribe of a couple of fatted kids, without respect of
God or of his honour, to back so infamous a cause and do so vile
a wrong to sacred justice. When I had uttered these words, and
many others to the like effect, Raff aello kept on blandly urging that
it was far better to eat a thrush in peace than to bring a fat capon
to one's table, even though one were quite sure to get it, after a hot
fight. He further reminded me that lawsuits had a certain way of
dragging on, and that I could employ the time far better upon some
masterpiece of art, which would bring me not only greater honour,
but greater profit to boot. I knew that he was speaking the mere
truth, and began to lend ear to his arguments. Before long, therefore,
we arranged the matter in this way: Sbietta was to rent the farm
from me at seventy golden crowns in gold the year during the whole
term of my natural life. But when we came to the contract, which
was drawn up by Ser Giovanni, son of Ser Matteo da Falgano,
Sbietta objected that the terms we had agreed on would involve our
paying the largest duties to the revenue. He was not going to break
his word; therefore we had better draw the lease for five years, to
be renewed on the expiry of the term. He undertook to abide by his
promise to renew, without raising further litigation. That rascal, the
priest, his brother, entered into similar engagements; and so the lease
was drawn for five years.
CX
THOUGH i WANT to enter upon other topics, and to leave all this
rascality alone awhile, I am forced to narrate what happened at the
termination of this five years' contract. Instead of abiding by their
promised word, those two rogues declared they meant to give me
up my farm, and would not keep it any longer upon lease. I not
unnaturally complained, but they retorted by ostentatiously unfold-
ing the deed; and I found myself without any defence against their
chicanery. When it came to this, I told them that the Duke and
Prince of Florence would not suffer folk to be so infamously mas-
sacred in their cities. That menace worked so forcibly upon their
minds that they once more despatched Raff aello Scheggia, the same
man who negotiated the former arrangement. I must add that they
[410]
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
professed their unwillingness to pay the same rent of seventy crowns
as during the five years past, while I replied that I would not take
a farthing less. So then Raffaello came to look me up, and spoke to
this effect: "My Benvenuto, you know that I am acting in your
interest. Now these men have placed themselves entirely in my
hands!" and he showed me a writing to this effect signed by them.
Not being aware that he was their close relative, I thought he would
be an excellent arbitrator, and therefore placed myself also abso-
lutely in his hands. This man of delicate honour then came one eve-
ning about a half hour after sunset, in the month of August, and
induced me with the strongest pressure to draw up the contract
then and there. He did so because he knew that if he waited till the
morning, the deceit he wished to practise on me must have failed.
Accordingly the deed was executed, to the effect that they were
to pay me a rent of sixty-five crowns, in two half-yearly instalments,
during the term of my natural life. Notwithstanding I rebelled
against it, and refused to sit down quietly under the injustice, all
was to no purpose; Raffaello exhibited my signature, and every one
took part against me. At the same time he went on protesting that
he acted altogether in my interest and as my supporter. Neither the
notary nor any others who heard of the affair, knew that he was a
relative of those two rogues; so they told me I was in the wrong.
Accordingly, I was forced to yield with the best grace I could; and
what I have now to do is to live as long as I can manage.
Close after these events, that is to say, in the December of 1566
following, I made another blunder. I bought half of the farm
Del Poggio from them, or rather from Sbietta, for two hundred
crowns. 175 It marches with my property of La Fonte. Our terms
were that the estate should revert at the term of three years, 176 and
I gave them a lease of it. I did this for the best; but I should have
to dilate too long upon the topic were I to enter into all the rascali-
ties they practised on me. Therefore, I refer my cause entirely to
God, knowing that He hath ever defended me from those who
sought to do me mischief.
CXI
HAVING QUITE COMPLETED my crucifix, I thought that if I raised it
to some feet above the ground, it would show better than it did upon
a lower level. After I had done so, it produced a far finer effect than
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
even it had made before, and I was greatly satisfied. So then I began
to exhibit it to every one who had the mind to see it.
As God willed, the Duke and the Duchess heard about it. On their
arrival then from Pisa, both their Excellencies arrived one day quite
unexpectedly, attended by all the nobles of their court, with the sole
purpose of inspecting my crucifix. They were so much delighted,
that each of these princes lavished endless praises on it, and all the
lords and gentlefolk of their suites joined in chorus. Now, when I
saw how greatly they were taken with the piece, I began to thank
them with a touch of humour, saying that, if they had not refused
me the marble for the Neptune, I should never have undertaken so
arduous a task, the like whereof had not been attempted by any
sculptor before me. "It is true," I added, "that this crucifix has cost
me hours of unimaginable labour; yet they have been well expended,
especially now when your most illustrious Excellencies have be-
stowed such praises on it. I cannot hope to find possessors of it
worthier than you are; therefore I gladly present it to you as a
gift." 1 "
After speaking to this effect, I prayed them, before they took
their leave, to deign to follow me into the ground-floor of my dwell-
ing. They rose at once with genial assent, left the workshop, and on
entering the house, beheld my little model of the Neptune and the
fountain, which had not yet been seen by the Duchess. This struck
her with such force that she raised a cry of indescribable astonish-
ment, and turning to the Duke, exclaimed: "Upon my life, I never
dreamed it could be one-tenth part so beautiful!" The Duke replied
by repeating more than once: "Did I not tell you so?" Thus they
continued talking together for some while greatly in my honour.
Afterwards the Duchess called me to her side; and when she had
uttered many expressions of praise which sounded like excuses (they
might indeed have been construed into asking for forgiveness), she
told me that she should like me to quarry a block of marble to my
taste, and then to execute the work. In reply to these gracious
speeches I said that, if their most illustrious Excellencies would pro-
vide me with the necessary accommodations, I should gladly for their
sakes put my hand to such an arduous undertaking. The Duke re-
sponded on the moment: "Benvenuto, you shall have all the accom-
modations you can ask for; and I will myself give you more besides,
which shall surpass them far in value." With these agreeable words
they left me, and I remained highly satisfied.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
CXII
MANY WEEKS PASSED, but of me nothing more was spoken. This
neglect drove me half mad with despair. Now about that time the
Queen of France sent Messer Baccio del Bene to our Duke for a loan
of money, which the Duke very graciously supplied, as rumour went.
Messer Baccio del Bene and I had been intimate friends in former
times; so when we renewed our acquaintance in Florence, we came
together with much mutual satisfaction. In course of conversation
he related all the favours shown him by his most illustrious Excel-
lency, and asked me what great works I had in hand. In reply, I
narrated the whole story of the Neptune and the fountain, and the
great wrong done me by the Duchess. He responded by telling me
how her Majesty of France was most eager to complete the monu-
ment of her husband Henri II, and how Daniello da Volterra 178 had
undertaken a great equestrian statue in bronze, but the time had
already elapsed in which he promised to perform it, and that a multi-
tude of the richest ornaments were required for the tomb. If, then,
I liked to return to France and occupy my castle, she would supply
me with all the conveniences I could ask for, provided only I cared
to enter her service. These proposals he made on the part of the
Queen. I told Messer Baccio to beg me from the Duke; if his most
illustrious Excellency was satisfied, I should very willingly return
to France. He answered cheerfully: "We will travel back together!"
and considered the affair settled. Accordingly, next day, in course
of conversation with the Duke, he alluded to myself, declaring that
if his Excellency had no objection, the Queen would take me into
her employ. The Duke replied without a moment's hesitation: "Ben-
venuto's ability in his profession is known to the whole world; but
at the present time he does not care to go on working." Then they
touched on other topics; and upon the day following I called on
Messer Baccio, who reported what had passed between them. Then
I lost all patience, and exclaimed: "Oh, me! His most illustrious Ex-
cellency gave me nothing to do, while I was bringing to perfection
one of the most difficult masterpieces ever executed in this world;
and it stands me in more than two hundred crowns, which I have
paid out of my poverty! Oh, what could I not have done if his
Excellency had but set me to work! I tell you in pure truth, that
they have done me a great wrong!" The good-natured gentleman
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KENVENUTO CELLINI
repeated to the Duke what I had answered. The Duke told him we
were joking, and that he wanted me for his own service. The result
was that in my irritation I more than once made up my mind to
make off without asking leave. However, the Queen preferred to
drop negotiations, in fear of displeasing the Duke; and so I remained
here, much to my regret.
CXIII
ABOUT THAT TIME the Duke went on a journey, attended by all his
court and all his sons, except the prince, who was in Spain. They
travelled through the Sienese Maremma, and by this route he reached
Pisa. The poison from the bad air of those marshes first attacked the
Cardinal, who was taken with a pestilential fever after a few days,
and died at the end of a brief illness. He was the Duke's right eye,
handsome and good, and his loss was most severely felt. I allowed
several days to elapse, until I thought their tears were dried, and
then I betook myself to Pisa.
NOTES
ON THE LIFE OF BENVENUTO CELLINI AFTER THE YEAR 1562
CELLINI'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY breaks off abruptly just at the point when it was
acquiring considerable importance to the historian. Students of Floren-
tine annals will hardly need to be reminded that in the autumn of 1562
the Cardinal de' Medici died suddenly and somewhat mysteriously upon a
hunting expedition in the Pisan marshes, while Don Garzia de' Medici
followed him to the grave after the interval of a few days at Pisa. Popu-
lar rumour asserted that the Cardinal had been mortally wounded in a
quarrel by his brother Garzia, and that their father, the Grand Duke, had
stabbed the latter in a fit of murderous rage. The death of the Grand
Duchess Leonora, which took place shortly afterwards, was ascribed, not
to her natural sorrow and to her own physical infirmities, but to the
horror inspired in her by these domestic crimes.
There is little doubt that all three deaths were natural; and Cellini's
interrupted account of die occurrences very materially confirms this view.
It must, however, be regretted that we have lost the narrative of his visit
to Pisa. The intimate relations which up to this time he maintained with
die Grand Ducal family, gave him abundant opportunities for discerning
the truth in matters which concerned them privately; nor can it be
doubted that the picture he would probably have drawn of their domestic
affliction must have been dramatically impressive.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
Cellini died upon the i3th of February 1570, according to die old Flor-
entine style, or in 1571, according to our modern reckoning. Therefore
somewhat more than seven years of life remained for him after the termi-
nation of his memoirs. The events of those years may be to a certain ex-
tent recovered from his private memoranda or Ricordi, his petitions to
the Medicean princes and to the Soprasindachi of Florence, and a few
official documents which mention him.
Some important incidents of his life at Florence before the year 1562,
omitted for unknown reasons in his autobiography, have also to be re-
corded. We find that at the close of 1554 he was admitted to the Floren-
tine nobility. 1 In the year 1556 he was twice imprisoned; on what charges
cannot be precisely ascertained, though passages in his poems and petitions
make it probable that on one at least of these occasions, he was accused
of criminal immorality. 2 On the 2nd of June 1558 he took the first
tonsure, without however engaging himself irrevocably to the ecclesias-
tical state. 8 From these preliminary vows he was released in 1560, and
about four years later he married a woman who is named Piera di Sal-
vadore Parigi in one of his RicordL* She is supposed to have been the
same who behaved so genially at the time when the Perseus was being
cast, and who nursed him through the illness following his visit to Sbietta
in 1559. This identification is, however, to say the least, very dubious.
The genealogical table printed at the close of these notes will inform the
reader concerning the births and deaths of Cellini's children.
During the year 1559 an act of open-handed charity involved Cellini
in a series of troublesome entanglements, which deserve to be briefly
narrated. A certain woman called Dorotea, the wife of Domenico Parigi,
surnamed Sputasenni, had long served him for a model. Her husband
was a worthless fellow, who, being imprisoned in the Stinche for some
quarrel, left his family in extreme indigence. 5 Cellini received Dorotea
and her son Antonio and her daughter Margherita into his own house
upon the 8th of July. There he supported them, at the same time paying
for Sputasenni's board in prison, until the 25th of December, when the
man was released. His kindness to the family did not stop here. Eleven
months later, that is to say, in November 1560, he adopted the boy An-
tonio Sputasenni, giving him the name of Nutino (a diminutive of Ben-
venutino), and settling upon him the sum of one thousand crowns, which
were to be paid when he reached the age of eighteen, provided he adopted
'Bianchi, p. 592.
"Bianchi,p.593.
*6ianchi, p. 596.
4 Bianchi,p.6oi.
"The story may be read in Cellini's petition to the Grand Duke. Bianchi, Doc.
i of Seri* Prima, p. 542.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
the profession of a sculptor. 6 This boy turned out stupid, ill-conditioned,
and intractable. Cellini found that it was useless to educate him for any art
or trade. Nothing remained but to make him a friar; this being the natural
refuge for incorrigible idlers and incapable ne'er-do-weels. Accordingly
he was established among the novices of fratini in the Franciscan con-
vent of the Nunziata. There he received the name of Lattanzio; but it does
not appear that he pledged himself to enter into religion. 7 Cellini con-
tinued to exercise parental authority and supervision over the youth; and
one of his chief anxieties was to keep him from the contaminating society
of his father. This good-for-nothing fellow had been residing for some
years in Pisa; but shortly before 1569 he returned with his wife to Flor-
ence, complained loudly that his son was being educated for a friar, and
used all his influence to defeat the plans Cellini had formed for Lat-
tanzio 's future. Cellini forbade Lattanzio to visit his father. The novice
disobeyed this order; and early in the spring of 1569 Cellini formally
disinherited his adopted son, and washed his hands of the affair. 8 He was
not, however, easily quit of these troublesome protege's. In 1570 Domenico
Sputasenni instituted a suit against Cellini, in order to compel him to
maintain the young man, whom we must now again call Antonio, and to
secure a portion of the adoptive father's estate in settlement. The action
went against the defendant, who was sentenced on the znd of June 1570 to
provide for Antonio's support. 9 Against this verdict Cellini appealed to
the Grand Duke. It appears from the rescript to his petition that his estate
was eventually freed from all claims on the part of Antonio Sputasenni;
but Cellini was obliged to pay a yearly allowance during his own life-
time to the young man. 10
During the whole of this transaction nothing emerges to Cellini's dis-
credit; nor is there any hint that Antonio Sputasenni was regarded as his
illegitimate child. On the contrary, the lad is described as "figliuolo suo
adottivo e legittimo e naturale di Domenico f Antonio Sputasenni di
Firenze" in the adverse sentence of June 2, 1570. We have, therefore, the
right to assume that all Cellini's dealings with the Sputasenni family were
prompted by simple kind-heartedness. This, like his natural affection for
"See Tassi, vol. iii, p. 89.
*He is afterwards described as "lo sfratato Fra Lattanzio" by the judges who
decided a case in his favour, June 2, 1570. Bianchi, p. 541.
"The whole story may best be read in Cellini's own Ricordi on the subject.
Bianchi, Doc. xliii of Serie Prima, p. 537.
'Bianchi, p. 541.
"See Cellini's petition, Bianchi, p. 542; Tassi, vol. iii, p. 188; for the decree of
July ii, 1570, compelling him to maintain Antonio during his own lifetime.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENVENUTO CELLINI
his sister and nieces, which determined him to quit the service of King
Francis, is an amiable trait in his mixed character. 11
In the month of March 1561 (new style) Cellini received from the
Grand Duke a donation of his house in the Via del Rosaip. 12 The terms
in which Cosimo de* Medici mentions his merit as "an artist in bronze-
casting and a sculptor resplendent with incomparable glory," prove that he
was at this time high in favour with his patron. The gift is confirmed, with
reversion to his heirs, by a formal deed of February 5, 1563 (new style). 18
The documents relating to Cellini during the last decade of his life
prove that he was constantly in litigation with the Grand Duke regard-
ing payments due to him for the Perseus and other works of art. It ap-
pears from them that, whether through his own neglect of art or through
the indifference of his princely patrons, he ceased to be employed on
undertakings of public importance. At the same time we gather from the
same series of papers that he engaged in business speculations with Flor-
entine goldsmiths, and that he invested some capital in purchases of land.
The state of his health, which was never robust after the illness of 1559-60,
combined with domestic cares, seems to have contributed together with
old age to a suspension of his active faculties.
When the Florentines prepared their splendid obsequies for Michel
Angelo Buonarroti in the Church of Sta. Croce, upon the i6th of March
1564, Cellini was chosen together with Ammanati to represent the art of
Sculpture, while Bronzino and Vasari walked as representatives of Paint-
ing in the funeral procession. 14 Vasari in his Life of Michel Angelo re-
lates that Cellini was prevented by ill-health from attending; and this
must have been a sore disappointment to one who professed so sincere a
devotion to the last great master of Italian art. Indeed, during the closing
years of his existence, Cellini suffered from many pressing maladies, the
worst and most persistent of which seems to have been the gout. After
making several wills during the four previous years, he dictated his last
testament on the i8th of December 1570. Codicils were added successively
upon the nth of January, 3rd of February, and 6th of February 1571;
and on the i3th of that month he breathed his last. Upon the i5th he was
buried with public honours in the Church of the Annunziata. In the
course of the ceremony an oration was delivered "in praise and honour
of his life and works, and of the excellent disposition of his soul and
body." 15 He left a widow and two legitimate children to deplore his loss.
n lt ought to be mentioned that the woman Cellini married before 1565, Piera
di Salvadore Parigi, bore the same family name as these Sputasenni.
"See Carpani, vol. ii, p. 462; Tassi, vol. iii, p. 108. This document is omitted
by Molini and Bianchi. But I see no reason to doubt its genuineness.
"Bianchi,p. 501.
"Carpani, vol. ii, p. 498.
Bianchi, p. 578.
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Textual Notes
NOTES
BOOK FIRST
1. He is alluding to the name Fluenzia, which some antiquaries of his day
thought to have been the earliest name of the city, derived from its being near
"Arno fluente." I have translated the word fiuente in the text literally, though
of course it signifies "situated on a flowing river." I need not call attention to
the apocryphal nature of Cellini's own derivation from the name of his sup-
posed ancestor.
2. Cosa is Florentine for Niccolosa.
3. The hour is reckoned, according to the old Italian fashion, from sunset of
one day to sunset of the next twenty-four hours.
4. Benvenuto means Welcome.
5. The word is bocche, so I have translated it by "mouths." But Cellini clearly
meant the gaping claws of the scorpion.
6. The Medici here mentioned were Lorenzo the Magnificent, and his son
Retro, who was expelled from Florence in the year 1404. He never returned,
but died in the river Garigliano in 1504.
7. In the Middle Ages the burghers of Florence were divided into industrial
guilds called the Greater and the Lesser Arts. The former took precedence of
the latter, both in political importance and in social esteem.
8. Piero Soderim was elected Gonfalonier of the Florentine Republic for life
in the year 1502. After nine years of government, he was banished, and when
he died, Machiavelli wrote the famous sneering epitaph upon him. See Renais-
sance m Italy, vol. i, p. 297.
9. This was in 1512, when Lorenzo's two sons, Giuliano and Giovanni (after-
wards Pope Leo X), came back through the aid of a Spanish army, after the
great battle at Ravenna.
10. The Medicean arms were "or, six pellets gules, three, two, and one."
The Florentine Commune bore, "argent a cross gules."
u. Cellini makes a mistake here. Salviati married a daughter of Lorenzo de'
Medici, and obtained great influence in Florence; but we have no record of his
appointment to the office of Gonfalonier.
12. Baccio Bandinello, the sculptor, and a great rival of Cellini's, as will ap-
pear in the ensuing pages, was born in 1487, and received the honour of knight-
hood from Clement VII and Charles V. Posterity has confirmed Cellini's
opinion of Bandinello as an artist; for his works are coarse, pretentious, and
incapable of giving pleasure to any person of refined intelligence.
13. Cellini refers to the famous Giovanni delle Bande Nere, who was killed
in an engagement in Lombardy in November, 1526, by the Imperialist troops
marching to the sack of Rome. His son Cosimo, after the murder of Duke
Alessanoro, established the second Medicean dynasty in Florence.
14. The Eight, or Gli Otto, were a magistracy in Florence with cognisance
of matters affecting the internal peace of the city.
NOTES
15. This Cardinal and Pope was Giulio, a natural son of Giuliano, Lorenzo de 9
Medici's brother, who had been killed in the Pazzi conspiracy, year 1478. Giulio
lived to become Pope Clement VII, to suffer the sack of Rome in 1527, and to
make the concordat with Charles V at Bologna in 1529-30, which settled for
three centuries the destiny of Italy. We shall hear much more of him from
Cellini in the course of this narrative.
1 6. The Fish-stone, or Pietra del Pesce, was the market on the quay where
the fish brought from the sea up the Arno to Pisa used to be sold.
17. I have translated spazzature by "sweepings." It means all refuse of the
precious metals left in the goldsmith s trays.
1 8. Torrigiani worked in fact for Henry VIII, and his monument to Henry
VH still exists in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey. From England he
went to Spain, where he modelled a statue of die Virgin for a great nobleman.
Not receiving the pay he expected, he broke his work to pieces; for which act
of sacrilege the Inquisition sent him to prison, where he starved himself to death
in 1522. Such at least is the legend of his end.
19. The cartoons to which Cellini here alludes were made by Michel Angelo
and Lionardo for the decoration of the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo
Vecchio at Florence. Only the shadows of them remain to this day; a part of
Michel Angdo's, engraved by Schiavonetti, and a transcript by Rubens from
JJonardo's, called the Battle of the Standard.
20. The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
21. The Chapel of the Carmine, painted in fresco by Masaccio and some other
artist, possibly Filippino Lippi, is still the most important monument of Floren-
tine art surviving from the period preceding Raphael.
22. The profile portraits of Michel Angelo Buonarroti confirm this story.
They show the bridge of his nose bent in an angle as though it had been broken.
23. Fra Filippo Lippi was a Carmelite monk, whose frescoes at Prato and
Spoleto and oil-paintings in Florence and elsewhere are among the most genial
works of the pre-Raphaelite Renaissance. Vasari narrates his love-adventures
with Lucrezia Buti, and Robert Browning has drawn a clever portrait of him
in his "Men and Women." His son, Filippo or Filippino, was also an able
painter, some of whose best work survives in the Strozzi Chapel of S. Maria
Novella at Florence, and in the Church of S. Maria Sopra Minerva at Rome.
24. Tasso was an able artist, mentioned both by Vasari and Pietro Aretino.
He stood high in the favour of Duke Cosimo de' Medici, who took his opinion
on the work of other craftsmen.
25. Cellini's use of the word one for the art or trade of goldsmiths corre-
sponds to "the art" as used by English writers early in this century. See Hay-
don's Autobiography, passim.
26. The Italian is sobbillato, which might be also translated "inveigled" or
"instigated." But Varchi, the contemporary of Cellini, gives this verb the force
of using pressure and boring on until somebody is driven to do something.
27. The Italian is apposto che passassi una soma. The verb appostare has the
double meaning of lying in wait and arranging something on purpose. Cellini's
words may mean, caused a beast of burden to pass by.
28. Varchi says that a man who went about with only his cloak or cape by
daytime, if he were not a soldier, was reputed an ill-liver. The Florentine citi-
zens at this time still wore their ancient civil dress of the long gown and hood
called lucco.
29. This man was an ardent supporter of the Medici, and in 1510 organised a
conspiracy in their favour against the Gonfalonier SoderinL
30. Cellini calls these magistrates arronzinati cappuccctti, a term correspond-
NOTES
ing to our Roundheads. The democratic or anti-Medicean party in Florence
at that time, who adhered to the republican principles of Fra Girolamo Savona-
rola, distinguished themselves by wearing the long tails of their hoods twisted
up and turned round their heads. Cellini shows his Medicean sympathies by
using this contemptuous term, and by the honourable mention he makes of
Prinzivalle della Stufa.
31. A convent of closely immured nuns.
32. The word I have translated "massacred" above is assassinate. It occurs
frequently in Italian of this period, and indicates the extremity of wrong and
outrage.
33. Un di quelli arrovellati s cot end o la cresta dello arronzinato cappuccio.
See above, p. 27. The democrats in Cellini's days were called at Florence Arrab-
biati or Arrovellati. In the days of Savonarola this nickname had been given
to the ultra-Medicean party or Palleschi.
34. Lanciotti. There is some doubt about this word. But it clearly means
men armed with lances, at the disposal of the Signory.
35. Un converse, an attendant on the monks.
36. Benedetto da Monte Varchi was the celebrated poet, scholar, and historian
jf Florence, better known as Varchi. Another of his brothers was a physician
of high repute at Florence. They continued throughout Cellini's lite to live
on terms of intimacy with him.
37. Cellini calls this grosser ia.
38. Don Francesco de Bobadilla. He came to Rome in 1517, was shut up with
Clement in the Castle of S. Angelo in 1527, and died in 1529, after his return to
Spain.
39. This painter, Gio. Francesco Penni, surnamed II Fattore, aided Raphael in
his Roman frescoes and was much beloved by him. Together with Giulio
Romano he completed the imperfect Stanze of the Vatican.
40. Cellini here alludes to the Sistine Chapel and to the Villa Farnesina in
Trastevere, built by the Sienese banker, Agosuno Chigi. It was here that Raphael
painted his Galatea and the whole fable of Cupid and Psyche.
41. Scudi di giuli and scudi di moneta. The giulio was a silver coin worth
fifty-six Italian centimes. The scudi di moneta was worth tengiulios. Cellini was
paid in golden crowns, which had a much higher value. The scudo and the
ducato at this epoch were reckoned at seven lire, the lira at twenty soldi.
42. The packet was funnel-shaped, and Cellini poured the coins out from the
broad end.
43. The two slang phrases translated above are bordellerie and coglionerie.
44. That is, II Fattore. See above, p. 30.
45. Gli Arebbe fatti piu uscire de* gangheri; would have taken them still
more off the hinges.
46. The Ferragosto or Feriae Augusti was a festival upon the first of August.
47. The Camera Apostolica was the Roman Exchequer.
48. The Italians reckoned time from sundown till sundown, counting twenty-
four hours. Twenty-two o'clock was therefore two hours before nightfall. One
hour of the night was one hour after nightfall, and so forth. By this system
of reckoning, it is clear that the hours varied with the season of the year; and
unless we know the exact month in which an event took place, we cannot trans-
late any hour into terms of our own system.
49. Lit. "the largest piece left of me should be my ears."
50. Innocenzio Cibo Malaspina, Archbishop of Genoa, and nephew of Lo-
renzo de' Medici. He was a prelate of vast wealth and a great patron of arts
and letters.
i
NOTES
51. Marco Comoro was a brother of Catering the Queen of Cyprus. He ob-
tained the hat in 1492. Niccol6 Ridolfi was a nephew of Leo X. Giovanni Sal-
viati, the son of Jacopo mentioned above, p. ii y was also a nephew of Leo X,
who gave him the hat in 151 7.
52. St. John's Day was the great Florentine Festival, on which all the Guilds
went in procession with pageants through the city. Of the Florentine painter,
II Rosso or Maitre Roux, this is the first mention by Cellini. He went to France
in 1534, and died an obscure death there in 1541.
53. This Rienzo, Renzo, or Lorenzo da Ceri, was a captain of adventurers
or Condottiere, who hired his mercenary forces to paymasters. He defended
Crema for the Venetians in 1514, and conquered Urbino for the Pope in 1515.
Afterwards he fought for the French in the Italian wars. We shall hear more
of him again during die sack of Rome.
54. The Italian, restando dal imo awersario, seems to mean that Cellini's oppo-
nent proposed an accommodation, apologised, or stayed the duel at a certain
point.
55. See Cellini's treatise Oreficeria, cap. vi, for more particulars about this
artist.
56. His real name was Ambrogio Foppa. The nickname Caradosso is said to
have stuck to him in consequence of a Spaniard calling him Bear's-face in his
own tongue. He struck Leo X's coins; ana we possess some excellent medallion
portraits by his hand.
57. For nim, consult Cellini's Oreficeria.
58. Stavano alle velette. Perhaps "lay in wait for."
59. Giacomo Berengario da Carpi was, in fact, a great physician, surgeon,
and student of anatomy. He is said to have been the first to use mercury in the
cure of syphilis, a disease which was devastating Italy after the year 1495. He
amassed a large fortune, which, when he died at Ferrara about 1530, he be-
queathed to the Duke there.
60. See Book Second, Chap, viii, for a full account of this incident at
Ferrara.
61. Probably Domenico lacobacci, who obtained the hat in 1517.
62. A sua provisione ttava, i.e., he was in the Cardinal's regular pay.
63. Quant o. Perhaps we ought to read quando when?
64. Come ancora to avevo fatto secondo rusanza che promettava quelP arrab-
biata stagione. I am not sure that I have given the right sense in the text above.
Leclanche interprets the words thus: "that I too had fared according to the wont
of that appalling season," i.e., had died of the plague. But I think me version in
my sense is more true both to Italian and to Cellini's special style.
65. That is, to escape either being drowned or shot.
66. This sculptor came to Rome with his compatriot Baldassare Peruzzi, and
was employed upon the monument of Pope Adrian VI, which he executed with
some help from Tribolo.
67. There were two artists at this epoch surnamed Bachiacca, the twin sons of
Ubcrtino Verdi, called respectively Francesco and Antonio. Francesco was an
excellent painter of miniature oil-pictures; Antonio the first embroiderer of his
age. The one alluded to here is probably Francesco.
68. Mancare di una si ptasza cosa. The pazza cosa may be the supper-party or
the cornaccbia.
69. Virtuosamente. Cellini uses the word virtuoso in many senses, but always
more with reference to intellectual than moral qualities. It denotes genius,
artistic ability, masculine force, &c.
70. Un tessuto di gelsimnni natural* e bellisshni. Tessuto is properly something
NOTES
woven, a fabric; and I am not sure whether Cellini does not mean that the ladies
had behind their backs a tapestry representing jasmines in a natural manner.
71. Probably Eurialo d'Ascoli, a friend of Caro, Molza, Aretino.
72. Gichero, arum maculatum, and clizia, the sunflower.
73. Piloto, of whom we shall hear more hereafter, was a prominent figure in
the Florentine society of artists, and a celebrated practical joker. Vasari says
that a young man of whom he had spoken ill murdered him. Lasca's Novelle,
Le Gene, should be studied by those who seek an insight into this curious Bo-
hemia of the sixteenth century.
74. Girolamo Balbo, of the noble Venetian family, Bishop of Gurck, in
Carinthia.
75. The Porta Castello was the gate called after the Castle of S. Angelo.
Prati, so far as I can make out, was an open space between the Borgo and die
Bridge of S. Angelo. In order to get inside Rome itself, Cellini had to pass a
second gate. His own lodging and Pantasilea's house were in the quarter of the
Bianchi, where are now the Via Giulia and Via de' Banchi Vecchi.
76. War had broken out in 1521 between Charles V and Francis I, which dis-
turbed all Europe and involved the States of Italy in serious complications. At
the moment when this chapter opens, the Imperialist army under the Constable
of Bourbon was marching upon Rome in 1527.
77. These troops entered Rome in October 1526. They were disbanded in
March 1527.
78. Cellini here refers to the attack made upon Rome by the great Ghibelline
house of Colonna, led by their chief captain, Pompeo, in September 1526. They
took possession of the city and drove Clement into the Castle of S. Angelo,
where they forced him to agree to terms favouring the Imperial cause. It was
customary for Roman gentlemen to hire bravi for the defence of their palaces
when any extraordinary disturbance was expected, as, for example, upon the
vacation of the Papal Chair.
79. All historians of the sack of Rome agree in saying that Bourbon was shot
dead while placing ladders against the outworks near the shop Cellini men-
tions. But the honour of firing the arquebuse which brought him down cannot
be assigned to any one in particular. Very different stories were current on the
subject. See Gregorovius, Stadt Rom, vol. viii, p. 522.
80. For Renzo di Ceri see above, p. 42. Orazio Baglioni, of the semi-princely
Perugian family, was a distinguished Condottiere. He subsequently obtained
the captaincy of the Bande Nere, and died fighting near Naples in 1528. Orazio
murdered several of his cousins in order to acquire the lordship of Perugia. His
brother Malatesta undertook to defend Florence in the siege of 1530, and sold
the city by treason to Clement.
81. Uiovio, in his Life of the Cardinal Prospero Colonna, relates how he
accompanied Clement in his flight from the Vatican to the castle. While pass-
ing some open portions of the gallery, he threw his violet mantle and cap of
a Monsignore over the white stole or the Pontiff, for fear he might be shot at
by the soldiers in the streets below.
82. The short autobiography of RafFaello da Montelupo, a man in many re-
spects resembling Cellini, confirms this part of our author's narrative. It is one
of the most interesting pieces of evidence regarding what went on inside the
castle during the sack of Rome. Montelupo was also a gunner, and commanded
two pieces.
83. This is an instance of Cellini's exaggeration. He did more than yeoman s
service, no doubt. But we cannot believe that, without him, the castle would
have been taken.
[4*5]
NOTES
84. Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, commanded a consider-
able army as general of the Church, and was now acting for Venice. Why he
effected no diversion while the Imperial troops were marching upon Rome, and
why he delayed to relieve the city, was never properly explained. Folk at-
tributed his impotent conduct partly to a natural sluggishness in warfare, and
partly to his hatred for the house of Medici. Leo X had deprived him of his
dukedom, and given it to a Medicean prince. It is to this that Cellini probably
refers in the cautious phrase which ends the chapter.
85. Benedetto Accolti of Arezzo, Archbishop of Ravenna in 1524, obtained
the hat in 1527, three days before the sack of Rome. He was a distinguished
man of letters. Niccolo Gaddi was created Cardinal on the same day as Accolti.
We shall hear more of him in Cellini's pages.
86. Alessandro Farnese, Dean of the Sacred College, and afterwards Pope
Paul III. Of Giacopo Salviati we have already heard, p. 1 1.
87. Loro preti. Perhaps "their priests."
88. The Mastio or main body of Hadrian's Mausoleum, which was converted
into a fortress during the Middle Ages.
80. Sfaveva messo la spada dmanzi. Perhaps "was bearing his sword in front
of him."
90. Soffionij the cannon being like tubes to blow a fire up.
91. This captain was a Spaniard, who played a very considerable figure in the
war, distinguishing himself at the capture of Genoa and the battle of Lodi in
1522, and afterwards acting as Lieutenant-General to the Prince of Orange.
He held Naples against Orazio Baglioni in 1528, and died before Spello in 1529.
92. This personage cannot be identified. The Filippo Strozzi mentioned as
having been his master was the great opponent of the Medicean despotism, who
killed himself in prison after the defeat of Montemurlo in 1539. He married
in early life a daughter of Piero de' Medici.
93. fassatojacci.
94. Franciotto Orsini was educated in the household of his kinsman Lorenzo
de' Medici. He followed the profession of arms, and married; but after losing
his wife took orders, and received the hat in 1517.
95. lo cbe non potevo stare alle mosse.
96. Pier Maria di Lotto of S. Miniato was notary to the Florentine Signoria.
He collected the remnants of the Bande Nere, and gave them over to Orazio
Baglioni, who contrived to escape from S. Angelo in safety to Perugia.
97. This is the famous Palazzo del Te, outside the walls of Mantua. It still
remains die chief monument of Giulio Romano's versatile genius.
98. Federigo Gonzaga was at this time Marquis of Mantua. Charles V erected
his fief into a duchy in 1530.
99. Ercole Gonzaga, created Cardinal in 1527. After the death of his brother,
Duke Federigo, he governed Mantua for sixteen years as regent for his nephews,
and became famous as a patron of arts and letters. He died at Trento in 1563
while presiding over the Council there, in the pontificate of Pius IV.
100. Giovanni de 9 Medici, surnamed Delle Bande Nere.
101. That is, "your ugly visage."
102. Carpani states that between May and November 1527 about 40,000 per-
sons died of plague in Florence.
103. I may remind my readers that the three Medici of the ruling house were
now illegitimate. Clement VII was the bastard son of Giuliano, brother of Lo-
renzo die Magnificent. Ippolito, the Cardinal, was the bastard of Giuliano, Duke
of Nemours, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Alessandro was the reputed bas-
tard of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Ales-
[426]
NOTES
sandro became Duke of Florence, and after poisoning his cousin Cardinal Ippo*
lito, was murdered by a distant cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici. In this way the
male line of Lorenzo the Magnificent was extinguished.
104. This painter was the pupil of Bertoldo, a man of simple manners and of
some excellence in his art. The gallery at Bologna has a fine specimen of his
painting. Michel Agnolo delighted in his society.
105. Cellini says Suiwnam.
1 06. This was the agreeable didactic poet Luigi Alamanni, who had to fly
from Florence after a conspiracy against Cardinal Giulio de' Medici in 1522. He
could never reconcile himself to the Medicean tyranny, and finally took refuge
verely taxed for leaving ]
taking service under Pope Clement, the oppressor of her liberties. His own nar-
rative admits some sense of shame. Yet we should remember that he never took
any decided part in politics, and belonged to a family of Medicean sympathies.
His father served Lorenzo and Piero; his brother was a soldier of Giovanni delle
Bande Nere and Duke Alessandro. Many most excellent Florentines were con-
vinced that the Medicean government was beneficial; and an artist had cer-
tainly more to expect from it than from the Republic.
109. Nicolas Schomberg, a learned Dominican and disciple of Savonarola,
made Archbishop of Capua in 1520. He was a faithful and able minister of
Gement. Paul III gave him the hat in 1535, and he died in 1537.
no. Affusolato. Lit., "straight as a spindle."
in. Vasari calls this eminent engraver of gems Michelino.
112. Messer Traiano Alicorno.
113. In un certo bel modo svolto. That means: "turned aside, not fronting
the spectator."
114. His full name was Tommaso Cortese. The Papal Datario was the chief
secretary of the office for requests, petitions, and patents. His title was derived
from its being his duty to affix the Datum Romx to documents. The fees of this
office, which was also called Datario, brought in a large revenue to the Papacy.
115. Moto propio. Cellini confuses his petition with the instrument, which
he had probably drawn up ready for signature.
1 1 6. Maestro delle stampe delta zecca, i.e., "the artist who made the dies."
117. Ossicina che seguitano it dito, etc. Probably metacarpal bones.
1 1 8. Che gnene awiasse.
119. Giacomo Rastelli was a native of Rimini, but was popularly known as
of Perugia, since he had resided long in that city. He was a famous surgeon
under several popes until the year 1566, when he died at Rome, aged seventy-
five.
1 20. Giovanni Gaddi of the Florentine family was passionately attached to
men of art and letters. Yet he seems to have been somewhat disagreeable in per-
sonal intercourse; for even Annibale Greco, who owed much to his patron-
age, and lived for many years in his house, never became attached to him. We
shall see how he treated dellini during a fever.
121. Some poems of Allegretti's survive. He was a man of mark in the literary
society of the age. Giovanni Greco may have been a Giovanni Vergezio, who
presented Duke Cosimo with some Greek characters of exquisite finish. Lodo-
vico da Fano is mentioned as an excellent Latin scholar. Annibale Caro was one
of the most distinguished writers of Italian prose and verse in the later Renais-
sance. He spent the latter portion of his life in the service of the FarnesL
[4*7]
NOTES
121. Messer Bastiano is the celebrated painter Sebastian de Piombo, born
1485, died 1 547.
123. Battista Sanga, a Roman, secretary to Gianmatteo Giberti, the good
Archbishop of Verona, and afterwards to Clement VII. He was a great Latin-
ist, and one of those ecclesiastics who earnestly desired a reform of the Church.
He died, poisoned, at an early age.
124. The Bargello was the chief constable or sheriff in Italian towns. I shall
call him Bargello always in my translation, since any English equivalent would
be misleading. He did the rough work of policing the city, and was conse-
quently a mark for all the men of spirit who disliked being kept in order.
Giovio, in his Life of Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, quite gravely relates how it
was the highest ambition of young Romans of spirit to murder the Bargello.
He mentions, in particular, a certain Pietro Mariano, who had acquired great
fame and popularity by killing the Bargello of his day, one Cencio, in the
Campo di Fiore. This man became an outlaw, and was favourably received
, by Cardinal Colonna, then at war with Clement VII.
125. His baptismal name was Bernardo. Cattivanza was a nickname. He fought
bravely for Florence in the siege.
126. Oime, saprestvnn tu dire che di quelli me Pha mono? The "me" is so
emphatic, that, though it makes poor English, I have preserved it in my ver-
sion.
127. The Torre di Nona was one of the principal prisons in Rome, used espe-
cially for criminals condemned to death.
128. Varchi, in his Storia Fiorentma, lib. xi, gives a short account of Cecchino
Cellini's death in Rome, mentioning also Bertino Aldobrandi, in the attempt to
revenge whom he lost his life.
129. That is, Frank, the Fifer's son.
130. I believe Cellini meant here to write "on a chief argent a label of four
points, and three lilies gules." He has tricked the arms thus in a MS. of the
Palatine Library. See Leclanche*, p. 103, see also Piatti, vol. i, p. 233, and Plon,
p. 2. 4
131. Tern. I have translated this word "dies"; but it seems to mean all the
coining instruments, stampe or conn being the dies proper.
132. Pugnal pistoles e: It came in time to mean a cutlass.
133. That is, the Pantheon.
134. Bandini bears a distinguished name in Florentine annals. He served Duke
Alessandro in affairs of much importance; but afterwards he betrayed the inter-
ests of his master, Duke Cosimo, in an embassy to Charles V in 1543. It seems
that he had then been playing into the hands of Filjppo Strozzi, for which
offence he passed fifteen years in a dungeon. See Varchi and Segni; also Mon-
tazio's Prigtomeri del Mastio di Volt err a^ cap. vii.
135. This was the Pope's hint to Cellini that he was aware of the murder he
had just committed.
136. Of these people, we can trace the Bishop of Vasona. He was Girolamo
Schio or Schedo, a native of Vicenza, the confidential agent and confessor of
Clement VII, who obtained the See of Vaison in the county of Avignon in
1523, and died at Rome in 1533. His successor in the bishopric was Tommaso
Cortesi, the Datary, mentioned above.
137. Varchi gives a very ugly account of this man, Francesco del Nero, who
was nicknamed the Cra del Piccadiglio, in his History of Florence, book iiL 4< fa
the whole city of Florence there never was born, in my belief, a man of such
irreligion or of such sordid avarice." Giovio confirms the statement.
[4*8]
NOTES
138. Querto fu quello che. This may be neuter: "This was the circumstance
which."
139. The word in Cellini is ovolatore di zecca.
140. This took place on the 8th and oth October 1530.
141. This famous masterpiece was preserved in the Castle of S. .
the Papal Government of Rome. It was brought out on Chrisi
S. Peter's days.
142. Quella sua smania di pa role.
143. Cellini received this post among the Mazzieri (who walked like beadles
before the Pope) on April 14, 1531. He resigned it in favour of Pietro Cornaro
of Venice in 1535.
144. Grattare il corpo, which I have translated "scratch your paunch," is
equivalent to 4< twirl your thumbs."
145. The office of the Piombo in Rome was a bureau in which leaden seals
were appended to Bulls and instruments of state. It remained for a long time
in the hands of the Cistercians; but it used also to be conferred on laymen,
among whom were Bramante and Sebastiano del Piombo. When the latter ob-
tained it, he neglected his art and gave himself up to "scratching his paunch,"
as Cellini predicted.
146. Bartolommeo or Baccip Valori, a devoted adherent of the Medici, played
an important part in Florentine history. He was Clement's commissary to the
Prince of Orange during the siege. Afterwards, feeling himself ill repaid for
his services, he joined Filippo Strozzi in his opposition to the Medicean rule, and
was beheaded in 1537, together with his son and a nephew.
147. Roberto Pucci was another of the devoted Medicean partisans who re-
mained true to his colours. He sat among the forty-eight senators of Alessandro,
and was made a Cardinal by Paul III in 1 534.
148. On November 19, 1532, Clement went to meet Charles V at Bologna,
where, in 1529, he had already given him the Imperial crown.
149. Cipollata. Literally, a show of onions and pumpkins; metaphorically, a
mess, gallimaufry.
150. Arcd di grazia di. I am not sure whether I have given the right shade of
meaning in the text above. It may mean: "You will be permitted."
151. Che mettessi tanta rnazza.
152. That is, Guiacum, called by the Italians legno santo.
153. The word I have translated "pyxes" is ciborii, vessels for holding the
Eucharist.
154. The Master of the Wardrobe was at that time Giovanni Aleotti. I need
hardly remind my readers that Guardaroba or wardrobe was the apartment in
a palace where arms, plate, furniture, and clothes were stored. We shall find,
when we come to Cellini's service under Duke Cosimo, that princes spent much
of their time in this place.
155. Vasari mentions a Girolamo Fagiuoli, who flourished at this period, but
calls him a Bolognese.
156. Gregorio Magalotti was a Roman. The Procurator-Fiscal was then
Benedetto Valenti. Magalotti is said to have discharged his office with extreme
severity, and to have run great risks of his life in consequence.
157. Le piti isvenevole carezze d*asmo.
158. Fece ma istrombaszata di coregge can tanta abundemsda di merda.
150. This district of the Central Apennines was always famous for witches,
poisoners, and so forth. The Farfa mentioned below is a village of die Sabine
hills.
160. Gio. Bernard! had been in the Duke of Feixara's service. Giovio brought
NOTES
him to Rome, where he was patronised by the Cardinals Salviati and De'
Medici. He made a famous medal of Clement VII, and was a Pontifical mace-
bearer. He died at Faenza in 1555.
161. The MS. has Figi; but this is probably a mistake of the amanuensis.
162. Ippolito de' Medici was a Cardinal, much against his natural inclination.
When he went as Papal Legate to Hungary in 1532, he assumed the airs and
style of a Condottiere. His jealousy of his cousin Alessandro led to his untimely
death by poison in 1535.
1622. The gun was an arquebuso a ruota, which had a wheel to cock it.
163. A village in the Sabina, north of Tivoli. Giov. Battista Savelli, of a great
Roman house, was a captain of cavalry in the Papal service after 1530. In 1540
he entered the service of Duke Cpsimo, and died in 1553.
164. This sculptor was Antonio Solosmeo of Settignano. The monument
erected to Piero de' Medici (drowned in the Garigliano, 1504) at Monte Cassino
is by no means a brilliant piece of Florentine art. Piero was the exiled son of
Lorenzo the Magnificent; and the Medici, when they regained their principality,
erected this monument to his memory, employing Antonio da San Gallo,
Francesco da San Gallo, and a Neapolitan, Matteo de' Quaranta. The work was
begun in 1532. Solosmeo appears from this passage in Cellini to have taken the
execution of it over.
165. A Gonfalonier of the Republic in 1527.
1 66. The Spanish Viceroy was at this time Pietro Alvarez de Toledo, Marquis
of Villafranca, and uncle of the famous Duke of Alva. He governed Naples for
twenty years, from 1532 onwards.
167. Mi jece una polizza. A polizza was an order for money, practically
identical with our cheque.
168. Ponte a Selice, between Capua and Aversa.
169. Anaeni, where Boniface VHI was outraged to the death by the French
partisans ofPhilip le Bel.
170. That is, private and sentimental.
171. This Pecci passed into the service of Caterina de' Medici In 1551 he
schemed to withdraw Siena from the Spanish to the French cause, and was
declared a rebel.
172. The medal was struck to celebrate the peace in Christendom between
1 530 and 1536.
173. Piero Carncsecchi was one of the martyrs of free-thought in Italy. He
adopted Protestant opinions, and was beheaded and burned in Rome, August,
1567.
174. Segnar sette e tagliar uno. A proverb derived possibly from felling trees;
or, as some commentators interpret, from the points made by sculptors on their
marble before they block the statue out.
175. The medal commemorated a deep well sunk by Clement at Orvieto.
176. The meaning of this, is, that if Clement died, Cellini would have had his
opportunity of vengeance during the anarchy which followed a vacancy of
the Papal See.
177. Tutti cTac cor do mi benedissono le mani. This is tantamount to approving
Cellini's handiwork in murdering Pompeo.
178. This was Francesco, brother to Cardinal Marco Cornaro. He received the
hat 1528, while yet a layman, and the Bishopric of Brescia in 1531.
179. Forli. The Bishop was Bernardo de' Medici.
180. Paul III, elected October 13, 1524.
181. Latino Giovenale de' Manetti was a Latin poet and a man of humane
learning, much esteemed by his contemporaries.
NOTES
182. Ambrogio Rccalcati. He was for many years the trusted secretary and
diplomatic agent of Paul III.
183. Le Sante Marie. So the Feast of the Assumption is called at Florence,
because devotion is paid on that day to the various images of the Virgin scat-
tered through the town. The Caporioni of Rome were, Eke aldermen, wardens
of the districts into which the city was divided.
184. Pier Luigi Farnese, Paul Ill's bastard, was successively created Gon-
falonier of the Church, Duke of Castro, Marquis of Novara, and finally Duke
of Parma and Piacenza in 1545. He was murdered at Parma by his own courtiers
in 1547. He was a man of infamous habits, quite unfit for the high dignities
conferred on him.
185. Che la facessi piu netta che poteva.
1 86. Niccolo de' Pericoli, a Florentine, who got the nickname of Tribolo in
his boyhood, was a sculptor of some distinction. He worked on the bas-reliefs
of San Petronio at Bologna, and helped Michel Agnolo da Siena to execute the
tomb of Adrian VI at Rome. Afterwards he was employed upon the sculpture
of the Santa Casa at Loreto. He also made some excellent bronze-work for the
Medicean villas at Cestello and Petraja. AIL through his life Tribolo served the
Medici, and during the siege of Florence in 1530 he constructed a cork model
of the town for Clement vll. Born 1485, died 1550.
187. This is the famous Giacopo Tarn, who took his artist's surname from
his master, Andrea da Monte a Sansovino. His works at Florence, Rome, and
Venice are justly famous. He died in 1570, aged ninety-three.
1 88. A brother of the Cardinal, and himself Marquis of Massa.
189. Ser Maurizio was entitled Chancellor, but really superintended the
criminal magistracy of Florence. Varchi and Segni both speak of him as harsh
and cruel in the discharge of his office.
190. Jacopo Nardi was the excellent historian of Florence, a strong anti-
Medicean partisan, who was exiled in 1530.
191. I have translated the word brigata by "family" above, because I find
Cellini in one of his letters alluding to his family as la ma brigatina.
192. Niccolo Benintendi, who had been a member of the Eight in 1529, was
exiled by the Medici in 1530.
193. The Florentine slang is lo ho in cido loro e il duca.
194. Ur monte di asini.
195. E che noi andassimo al bordello.
196. Sarge. Sargia is interpreted sopraccoperta del letto.
197. The Italian for "straps," coregge, has a double meaning, upon which
Cellini plays.
198. These were the special patrons of the Medicean family, being physician-
saints.
199. Che rm fermassi una provuisione.
200. The giulio was a coin of fifty-six Italian centimes or eight Tuscan crazie,
which in Florence was also called barile or gabellotto, because the sum had to
be paid as duty on a barrel of wine.
201. See above, p. 1 12, for the right meaning of "wardrobe."
202. Messer Francesco of Lucca, surnamed II Pretino.
203. Margaret of Austria, natural daughter to Charles V, was eventually mar-
ried in 1536 to Alessandro de' Medici.
204. Pietro Pagolo Galleotti, much praised by Vasari for his artistic skill.
205. Perhaps Bernardo Sabatini.
206. This is the famous Tuscan Brutus who murdered Alessandro. He was
NOTES
descended from Lorenzo de* Medici, the brother of Cosimo, Pater Patrise, and
the uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
207. This Ottaviano was not descended from either Cosimo or Lorenzo de'
Medici, but from an elder, though less illustrious, branch of the great family.
He married Francesca Salviati, the aunt of Duke Cosimo. Though a great patron
of the arts and an intimate friend of M. A. Buonarroti, he was not popular,
owing to his pride of place.
208. Cellini praises this man, however, in the preface to the Oreficeria.
209. Mostragnene. This is perhaps equivalent to mostraglielo.
210. Tutta la dtvoziane di Rama. It is not very clear what this exactly means.
Perhaps "all the affection and reverence I have for the city of Rome," or
merely "all my ties in Rome."
211. That is, Vincenzio Romoli.
212. Possibly Bernardino Lilii of Todi.
213. Francesco Fusconi, physician to Popes Adrian VI, dement VH, and
Pauim.
214. Franzesi was a clever Italian poet. His burlesque Capitoli are printed
with those of Berni and others.
2 1 5. Inferno, iii, the verses about Charon.
216. lo gli possa soffiare in citlo.
217. This sonnet is so insipid, so untrue to Cellini's real place in art, so false
to the far from saintly character of the man, that I would rather have declined
translating it, had I not observed it to be a good example of that technical and
conventional insincerity which was invading Italy at this epoch. Varchi was
really sorry to hear the news of Cellini's death; but for his genuine emotion
he found spurious vehicles of utterance. Cellini, meanwhile, had a right to
prize it, since it revealed to him what friendship was prepared to utter after
his decease.
2iS.Un fiasco, holding more than a quart.
219. Un polo di ctste, a kind of litter, here described in the plural, because
two of them were perhaps put together. I have thought it best to translate
the phrase literally. From a letter of Varchi to Bembo, we learn that Cellini
reached Florence, November 9, 1535.
220. This is the famous Giorgio Vasari, a bad painter and worse architect,
but dear to all lovers of the arts for his anecdotic work upon Italian artists.
221. Galantuomo, used ironically.
222. Luca Martini was 'a member of the best literary society in his days,
and the author of some famous burlesque pieces.
223. He had been banished in 1530 as a foe to the Medicean house.
224. Alessandro was murdered by his cousin Lorenzino at Florence on the 5th
of January 1537.
225. Bettini was an intimate friend of Buonarroti and a considerable patron
of the arts.
226. This exchange of ironical compliments testifies to Cellini's strong
Medicean leanings, and also to the sagacity with which he judged the politica
situation.
227. Cellini only spoke die truth on this occasion; for Cosimo soon kicked
down the ladder which had lifted him to sovereignty, and showed himself
the absolute master of Florence. Cosimo was elected Duke upon the 9th of
January 1537.
228. Cellini returns to the year 1535, when Charles V arrived in November
from Tunis.
229. The entry into Rome took place April 6, 1536.
[43*1
NOTES
230. Messer Durante Duranti, Prefect of the Camera under Paul III, who gave
him the hat in 1544, and the Bishopric of Brescia afterwards.
231. In the Oreficeria Cellini gives an account of how these foils were made
and applied. They were composed of paste, and coloured so as to enhance the
effect of precious stones, particularly diamonds.
232. Oreficeria, cap. L
233. Alfonson d' Avalos, successor and heir to the famous Ferdinando d'
Avalos, Marquis of Pescara. He acted for many years as Spanish Viceroy of
Milan.
234. lo ne or el fatte vendette a msura di car bone.
235. Sforza Sforza, son of Bosio, Count of Santa Fiore, and of Costanza
Farnese, the Pope's natural daughter. He was a youth of sixteen at this epoch.
236. He left Rome, April i, 1537.
237. 1 need hardly say that this is the Bembo who ruled over Italian literature
like a dictator from the reign of Leo X onwards. He was of a noble Venetian
house; Paul III made him Cardinal in 1529. He died, aged seventy-seven, in 1547.
238. I have retained Cellini's spelling of names upon this journey. He passed
the Bernina and Albula mountains, descended the valley of the Rhine to Wai-
ienstadt, traveled by Weesen and probably Glarus to Lachen and Zurich, thence
to Solothurn, Lausanne, Geneva, Lyons.
239. Filippo Strozzi was leader of the anti-Medicean party, now in exile. He
fell into the hands of Duke Cosimo on the ist of August in this year, 1537.
240. La Palice.
241. Cellini, in the narrative of his second French journey, explains that these
venturieri were a notable crew of very daring brigands in the Lyonese province.
242. Antonio da San Gallo, one of the best architects of the later Renaissance.
243. A pupil of Andrea del Sarto, who went with him to France and settled
there.
244. A Florentine exile mentioned by Varchi.
245. Fontainebleau. Cellini always writes it as above.
246. Ippolito d'Este, son of Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara; Archbishop of Milan at
the age of fifteen; Cardinal in 1539; spent a large part of his life in France.
247. Probably the Doveria in the Valdivedro.
248. In his Ricordi Cellini calls the man Girolamo Pascucci.
249. He was Duke of Bracciano, father of Duke Paolo, who married Isabella
de' Medici, and murdered her before his second marriage with Vittoria
Accoramboni. See my Renaissance in Italy, vol. vi.
250. He had been invested with the Duchy of Castro in 1537.
251. Bishop of Forlimpopoli in 1537, and of Jesi in 1540.
252. Benedetto Valenti.
253. Sottevati. It may mean half-risen from their seats.
254. Gio. Bartolommeo di Gattinara. Raffaello da Montelupo, in his Auto-
biography, calls him Cattinaro, and relates how **when he came one day into the
castle to negotiate a treaty, he was wounded in the arm by one of our arque-
busiers." This confirms what follows above.
255. Jean de Monduc, brother of the celebrated Marshal, Bishop of Valence,
a friend of Margaret of Navarre, and, like her, a protector of the Huguenots.
He negotiated the election of the Duke of Anjou to the throne of Poland.
256. It is only known of this man that he was a Knight of Jerusalem, and had
been Commendatore of Prato in 151 1.
257. Cellini means Pallavicini. Nothing seems to be known about him, except
that his imprisonment is mentioned in a letter of Caro's under date 1540.
258. Antonio Pucci, a Florentine, Cardinal de' Quattro Santi Coronati.
[433]
NOTES
259. That is, Girolamo Pascucci.
260. The door seems to have been hung upon hinges with plates nailed into
261. Margaret of Austria, who married Ottaviano Farnese in November 1538,
after Alessandro's murder.
262. See above, p. 105.
263. The Collegium Abbreviatorum di Parcp Majori consisted of seventy-two
members. It was established by Pius II. Onofrio Panvinio tells this story of Paul
Ill's imprisonment and escape, but places it in the Papacy of Innocent VIII. See
Vita Fault ///, in continuation of Platina.
264. Cellini confuses Jesi with Forlimpopoli. See above, p. 433, note 251.
265. Ascanio Sforza, son of Bosio, Count of Santa Fiore, and grandson of
Paul III. He got the hat in 1534, at the age of sixteen.
266. Cellini calls it isvivatoio. It is properly awivatoioy a sort of brass rod
with a wooden handle.
267. Cellini thought he was going to have his throat cut. And indeed the
Torre di Nona was a suspicious place, it being one of the worst criminal prisons
in Rome.
268. It will be remembered that Benedetto da Cagli was one of Cellini's three
examiners during his first imprisonment in S. Angelo.
269. The wife of Pier Luigi Farnese was Jeronima, daughter of Luigi Orsini,
Count of Pitigliano.
270. This mention of an Italian Bible shows that we are still in the days before
the Council of Trent.
271. A Florentine, banished in 1530 for having been in arms against the Medici.
272. Capitolo is the technical name for a copy of verses in terza rrma on a
chosen theme. Poems of this kind, mostly burlesque or satirical, were very
popular in Cellini's age. They used to be written on trifling or obscene subjects
in a mock-heroic style. Berni stamped the character of high art upon the species,
which had long been in use among the unlettered vulgar. See for further par-
ticulars Symonds* Renaissance in Italy, vol. v, chap. xiv.
273. Fra Benedetto da Foiano had incurred the wrath of Pope Clement VII
by preaching against the Medici in Florence. He was sent to Rome and im-
prisoned in a noisome dungeon of S. Angelo in the year 1530, where Clement
made him perish miserably by diminishing his food and water daily till he died.
See Varchrs Storia Florentine, lib. xii, chap. 4.
274. For Messer Durante, see p. 170. For the druggist of Prato employed as a
warder in S. Angelo, see above, p. 205.
275. In quel girare che e* fanno e* cibi. I have for the sake of clearness used
the technical phrase above.
276. The name of Leone Leoni is otherwise known as a goldsmith and bronze-
caster. He made the tomb for Giangiacomo de' Medici, II Medighino, in the
Cathedral of Milan.
277. Gio. Girolamo de' Rossi, known in literature as a poet and historian of
secondary importance.
278. Me na faceva la credenza.
279. This was the Cardinal Alessandro, son of Pier Luigi Farnese.
280. Cellini's "Capitolo in Praise of the Prison" is clearly made up of pieces
written, as described above, in the dungeon of S. Angelo, and of passages which
he afterwards composed to bring these pieces into a coherent whole. He has not
displayed much literary skill in the redaction, and I have been at pains to pre-
serve the roughness of the original.
281. The Italian is acqua morta; probably a slang phrase for urine.
[434]
NOTES
282. Un noftro parente. He says above that he wrote the Capitolo on Ac
leaves of his Bible.
283. Here he begins to play upon the lilies, which were arms of die FarnesL
of Florence, and of France.
284. Gabriel holds the lily in Italian paintings when he salutes the Virgin
Mary with "Ave Virgo! " e
285. That is, he finds everywhere in Italy the arms of the FarnesL
286. Allusion to his prevision of the castellan's death.
287. Allusion to his prevision of Pier Luigi Farnese's murder.
288. Allusion to the angel who visited him in prison.
289. Allusion to his vision of the sun in the dungeon.
290. An invective against Pier Luigi Farnese.
291. Allusion to the prophetic words he flung at the officers who took him to
Foiano's dungeon.
BOOK SECOND
1. This assertion is well supported by contemporary letters of Caro and
Alamanni.
2. Pulitezza. This indicates precision, neatness, cleanness of execution.
3. The name of Cesano is well known in the literary correspondence of those
times.
4. It will be remembered that the Cardinal was Archbishop of Milan.
5. A chi far a avere. For whomsoever it is going to belong to.
6. This was the famous Franois de Tournon, made Cardinal in 1530, and em-
ployed as minister by Francois I.
7. This official in a convent was the same as cellarer or superintendent of the
cellar and provisions.
8. This was March 22, 1540.
9. Tenevano molto con to di me. This is perhaps equivalent to "held me in
high esteem." But Cellini uses the same phrase with the meaning I have given
above, in Book First, chap. Ixxxvi.
10. The word I have translated by "pad" above is cucino in the original. It
seems to have been a sort of cushion flung upon the saddle, and to which the
stirrups were attached.
n. The Italian is peculiar: il colpo di Pagolo era ito tanto ritto che non era
isfandato.
1 2. Staggia is the next post on the way to Florence.
13. The Duke of Melfi, or Amalfi, was at this time Alfonso Piccolomini,
acting as captain-general of the Sienese in the interests of Charles V.
14. Cognobbi. The subject to this verb may be either Cellini or the doctor.
15. Anello del grancbio, a metal ring of lead and copper, such as are now
worn in Italy under the name of anello di salute.
1 6. This man was a member of a very noble Ferrarese family, and much
esteemed for his official talents.
17. Pur beato che io Fho veduto! Leclanche translates thus: "Par Dieu! il y
a langtemps que je ?ai vu! n I think Cellini probably meant to hint that he had
seen it before.
1 8. Seep. 47, for this story. ,
19. Cardinal Giovanni Salviati was Archbishop of Ferrara; Cardinal Benedetto
Accolti, Archbishop of Ravenna, was then staying at Ferrara; the court was
famous for its excellent orchestra and theatrical display of all kinds.
[435]
NOTES
20. The Monsanesc is the Mont Cenis. Cellini forgets that he has not men-
tioned this apprehension which made him turn aside from Milan. It may have
been the fear of plague, or perhaps of some enemy.
21. It is thus that Cellini always writes Fontainebleau.
22. See above, j>. 228, for Cellini's vow in the Castle of S. Angelo.
23. This was the castle of Le Petit Nesle, on the site of which now stands the
Palace of the Institute. The Provost of Paris was then Jean d'Estouteville, lord of
Vfflebon.
24. M. Nicholas de Neuf ville, lord of Villeroy.
25. Francois 1'Allemand, Seigneur de Marmagne.
26. Le Vicomte d'Orbec. It seems that by Iscontro Cellini meant Viscount.
27. These personages were Madame d'Etampes, the King's mistress; John of
Lorraine, son of Duke Renee II, who was made Cardinal in 1518; Henri d'Albret
II and Marguerite de Valois, his wife; the Dauphin, afterwards Henri II, and his
wife, the celebrated Caterina de' Medici, daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino.
28. The Pont du Change, replaced by the Pont Neuf.
29. The excitement of his recollection makes Cellini more than usually inco-
herent about this episode. The translator has to collect the whole sense of the
30. Cellini's philosophy is summed up in the proverb: "A miss is as good as
a mile. 9 *
31. Ma cbe to guardassi bene> che, etc. This is perhaps: "but they bade me
note well that.* 9
32. I have here translated the Italian anima literally by the English word
''soul." It is a technical expression, signifying the block, somewhat smaller than
the mould, which bronze-founders insert in order to obtain a hollow, and not a
solid cast from the mould which gives form to their liquid metal.
33. Piero was the son of Filippo Strozzi, and the general who lost the battle
of Montemurlo, so disastrous to the Florentine exiles, in 1537.
34. Antoine le Magon, secretary to Margaret of Navarre. He translated the
Decameron at her instance into French.
35. The letter of naturalisation exists. See Bianchi, p. 583. For the grant of the
castle, see ibid^ p. 585.
36. Anguillara and Pitigliano were fiefs of two separate branches of the Orsini
family. The house of Pico lost their lordship of Mirandola in 1536, when
Galeotto Pico took refuge with his sons in France. His descendants renewed
their hold upon the fief, which was erected into a duchy in 1619.
37. Per quell* bclla font*. Here, and below, Cellini mixes up Fontainebleau
and the spring which gave its name to the place.
38. S. Germain-en-Laye is not so far from Paris as Cellini thought.
39. Cellini refers to the renewal of hostilities in May 1542.
40. Son of Giuliano Guidi and Costanza, a daughter of Domenico Ghirlandajo.
Francois I sent for him some time before 1542, appointed him his own physician,
and professor of medicine in the Royal College. He returned to Florence in 1548.
41. Qm* im ftccia memoria di quel bcne. This is obscure. Quel bene may mean
"the happiness of his friendship."
42. We have already met with him in the Castle of S. Angelo. His brother,
the Count, was general in the French army. This brought the Bishop to Paris,
whence he returned to Italy in 1545.
43. Cbirurgi* e Gr<eco hi Lathium Convert*, Vido Vidio Floremmo inter-
prete, etc. Excudebat Petrus Galterius Luteciae Parisiorum, prid. CaL Mai. 1544.
So this printer was Pierre Sauthier.
44. Primtrircio, together with Rosso, introduced Italian painting into France.
[436]
NOTES
Vasari says he came to Paris in 1541. He died in 1570. He was, like many other
of the Lombard artists, an excellent master of stucco.
45. Paix, paix, Satan, allez, paix. The line in Dante to which Cellini alludes
is the first of the seventh canto of the "Inferno." His suggestion is both curious
and ingenious; but we have no reason to think that French judges used the same
imprecations, when interrupted, in the thirteenth as they did in the sixteenth
century, or that what Cellini heard on this occasion was more than an accidental
similarity of sounds, striking his quick ear and awakening his lively memory.
46. Matteo del Nassaro, a native of Verona, was employed in France as en-
graver, die-caster, and musician.
47. See Boccaccio, Decam., Gior. ii. Nov. ii.
48. Qual modo s'intendeva contro natura, doe in soddomia.
49. His name in full was Jacaues de la Fa. He and his son Pierre after him
held the office of tresorier de Pepargne. See Plon, p. 63.
50. By Colossus, Cellini means the fountain with the great statue of Mars.
51. That is, Primaticcio.
52. Aveva dato a guardia la lattuga at paperi.
53. Leone, son of Filippo Strozzi, Knight of Jerusalem and Prior of Capua,
was, like his brother Piero, a distinguished French general
54. This figure was undoubtedly the Nymph of Fontainebleau.
55. This salt-cellar is now at Vienna. It is beautifully represented by two
photogravures in Plon's great book on Cellini.
56. The Cleopatra is that recumbent statue of a sleeping Ariadne or Bacchante
now in the Vatican. The Venus (neither the Medicean nor the Capitoline) rep-
resents the goddess issuing from the bath; it is now in the Museo Pio Clementine
of the Vatican. The Commodus is a statue of Hercules, with the lion's skin and
an infant in his aims, also in the Vatican. The Zingara may be a statue of Diana
forming part of the Borghese collection. The Apollo is the famous Belvedere
Apollo 01 the Vatican.
57. That is, in Italian, "the rough rind/* a name given to rustics. Scorzone is
also the name for a little black venomous serpent.
58. In 1544 Charles V advanced toward Champagne and threatened Paris,
while the English were besieging Boulogne.
59. In the year 1539 Charles V obtained leave to traverse France with his
army on the way to Flanders.
60. Claude d'Annebault; captured at Pavia with Frai^ois; Marshal in 1538;
Admiral of France in 1543.
61. Jean Grolier, the famous French Maecenas, collector of books, antiquities,
etc.
62. Vedendo il hello.
63. This document exists, and is dated July 15, 1544. See Bianchi, p. 585.
64. Questo si e come passare in fra le picche.
65. Born 1523. Married Emmanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, in 1550. Died
66. This was what he called the Colossus above, p. 295. He meant it for the
fountain of Fontainebleau. See p. 281.
67. Properly, Le Moine Bourru, the ghost of a monk dressed in drugget
(bure). Le Petit Nesle had a bad reputation on account of the murders said to
have been committed there in the fourteenth century by Queen Jeanne, wife of
Philip V.
68. Toward the end of August 1544, the Imperial army advanced as far as
Epcrnay, within twenty leagues of Paris.
60. That is, ass-ox, Anc-et-bo.
[437]
NOTES
70. Girolamo Bellarmati, a learned mathematician and military architect,
banished from Siena for political reasons. He designed the harbour of Havre.
71. There is indeed good reason to believe that the King's mistress, in her
jealousy of the Dauphin and Diane de Poitiers, played false, and enabled the
Imperialists to advance beyond Epernay.
72. The MSS. in this phrase vary, and the meaning is not quite clear. Accord-
ing to one reading, the sense would be: "Though the works he had commis-
sioned were not yet begun." But this involves an awkward use of the word
dipoi.
73. Francois de Bourbon, Comte de Saint Paul, one of the chief companions
in arms and captains of Frar^ois I.
74. The peace of Crepy was concluded September 18, 1544. The English had
taken Boulogne four days earlier. Peace between France and England was not
concluded till June 7, 1546.
75. Argentanv the city of the Duchy of Alengon. Margaret, it will be remem-
bered, had been first married to the Due d' Alen9on, and after his death retained
his fiefs.
76. Con Targento e ogni cosa. These words refer perhaps to the vases: "the
silver and everything pertaining to them."
77. E Yaria era bianchissbna. Perhaps this ought to be: "and the air blazed
with lightnings." Goethe takes it as I do above.
78. The text here is obscure. The words "venire a tribulare" might mean "to
et, by any means, however inconvenient, to Florence." I have chosen another
interpretation in the text, as more consonant with the Italian idiom. For Cellini's
use of tribulare or tribolare y see lib. i. 112, andando a tribolare la vita tua.
79. Pier Luigi Farnese was not formally invested with the Duchy of Parma
and Piacenza until September 1545. Cellini, therefore, gives him this title as
Duke of Castro. He was assassinated on September 10, 1547. The Landi, among
other noblemen of the duchy, took part in a conspiracy which had its ground in
Pier Luigi's political errors no less than in his intolerable misgovernment and
infamous private life.
80. Though this paragraph is confused, the meaning seems to be that Cellini's
brother-in-law did not use the money which accrued from the sale of jewellery,
and got into debt, because his allowance was inadequate, and he was out of
work.
81. This Duchess was Eleonora di Toledo, well known to us through Bron-
zino's portrait.
82. This school was the Collegio dei Maestri di Belle Arti in Florence, who
had hitherto known of Cellini mainly as a goldsmith.
83. Cosimo chose the subject of Perseus because it symbolised his own victory
over the Gorgon of tyrannicide and Republican partisanship. Donatello s
Judith, symbolising justifiable regicide, and Michel Angelo's David, symbolising
the might of innocent right against an overbearing usurper, already decorated
the Florentine piazza. Until lately, both of these masterpieces stood together
there with the Perseus of Cellini.
84. This is probably the precious model now existing in the Bargello Palace
at Florence, in many points more interesting than the completed bronze statue
under the Loggia de' Lanzi.
85. DonateUo's Judith and Holofernes; Michel Angelo's David.
86. It is difficult to give the exact sense of pertanto and perche in the text;
but I think the drift of the sentence is rendered above.
87. This house is in the Via del Rosaio, entered from Via della Pergola, No.
6527.
[438]
NOTES
88. The petition and the rescript are in existence, and confirm Cellini's verac-
ity in this transaction. See Biancni, p. 587.
89. Varchi, St. Fior., lib. xv, 44, gives to this man the character of a pre-
sumptuous conceited simpleton.
90. Cellini calls this man, his bitter foe and rival, Buaccio or the great ox,
blockhead, instead of Baccio, which is shortened for Bartolommeo.
91. See p. 22. Vasari introduced him, together with Cosimo's other favoured
artists, in a fresco of the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence. See Plon, p. 124.
92. One of the rooms in the Palazzo Vecchio, so called because the famous
cosmographical timepiece, made about 1484 for Lorenzo de' Medici by Lorenzo
della Volpaia, stood there.
93. It was the custom at that epoch to address princes by the title of Signore
or Vostra Signoria; gentlemen (arnngeri) had the title of Messer; simple Ser
was given to plebeians with some civil or ecclesiastical dignity.
04. Vasari, in his Life of Montorsoli, says in effect that this Riccio died about
1559, after having been insane several years.
95. That is, the Opera del Duomo, or permanent establishment for attending
to the fabric of the Florentine Cathedral.
96. These two brothers were specially eminent as die-casters. Gianpagolo
went to Spain, and served Philip II.
97. Varchi and Ammirato both mention him as an excellent jeweller.
98. Antonio Landi was a Florentine gentleman, merchant, and author. A
comedy of his called Commode is extant.
99. Italians distinguished cut diamonds of three sorts: in tavola, a faccette,
and in puma. The word I have translated "cropped" is ischericato y which was
properly applied to an unfrocked or degraded ecclesiastic.
100. Filettiy the sharp lines which divide one facet from another.
xot. Antonio Ubertini, called II Bachiacca, a brother of Cellini's friend in
Rome. See p. 52. He enjoyed a great reputation, and was praised by Varchi in
a sonnet for his mastery of embroidery.
102. This is an important passage, which has not, I think, been properly under-
stood by Cellini's translators. It describes the process he now employed in pre-
paring a mould for bronze-casting. First, it seems, he made a solid clay model,
somewhat smaller than the bronze was meant to be. This he overlaid with wax,
and then took a hollow mould of the figure thus formed. Farther on we shall see
how he withdrew the wax from the hollow mould, leaving the solid model
inside, with space enough between them for the metal to flow in.
103. This is Lorenzino de' Medici, the murderer of Alessandro, who was him-
self assassinated by two Tuscan bravi in 1548. See Renaissance in Italy, vol. vi,
chap. 6.
104. Now in the Museum of the Bargello Palace at Florence.
105. A play on Benvenuto and Malvenuto.
1 06. He forgets that he has said above that it was offered him by Landi for
1 7,000 ducats.
107. This fee was "*/ quarto? or the fourth part of the criminal's fine, which
came to the delator.
1 08. It is worthy of notice that from this point onward the MS is written by
Cellini in his own hand.
109. Cosimo's silver mines were at Campiglia and Pietrasantra. He worked
them, however, rather at a loss than profit.
no. Sforza Almeni, a Peruvian gentleman, the Duke's chamberlain. Cosimo
killed this man with his own hand in the year 1566.
in. Stefano Colonna, of the princely house of Palestrina. He was a general of
[439]
NOTES
considerable repute in the Spanish, French, and Florentine services successively.
1 1 z. Vasari confirms this statement. The statue, which may still be seen upon
the great piazza, js, in truth, a very poor performance. The Florentines were
angry because Bandinello had filched the commission away from Michel Angelo.
It was uncovered in 1534, and Duke Alessandro had to imprison its lampooners.
113. Cellini alludes of course to the Sacristy of S. Lorenzo, designed by Michel
Angelo, with the portraits of the Medici and statues of Day, Night, Dawn, and
Twilight.
1 14. Ob sta chetOy soddomitaccio.
115. In questo (mondo) ti sgonfiero a ogni modo.
1 1 6. Vasari, in his Life of Bandinello, gives a curious confirmation of Cellini's
veracity by reporting this quarrel, with some of the speeches which passed be-
tween the two rival artists. Yet he had not read Cellini's memoirs, and was far
from partial to the man. Comparing Vasari's with Cellini's account, we only
notice that the latter has made Bandinello play a less witty part in the wordy
strife than the former assigned him.
117. Cellini alludes to a celebrated inundation of the year 1547.
1 1 8. S. Lucy, I need hardly remark, is the patroness of the eyes. In Italian art
she is generally represented holding her own eyes upon a plate.
119. At Portoferraio. It came afterwards to Florence.
120. This furnace, called manica, was like a grain-hopper, so that the mould
could stand upright in it as in a cup. The word manica is the same as our
"inanuch," an antique form of sleeve.
12 1. These air-vents, or sfiatatoi, were introduced into the outer mould,
which Cellini calls the tonaca, or clay tunic laid upon the original model of
baked clay and wax. They served the double purpose of drawing off the wax,
whereby a space was left for the molten bronze to enter, and also of facilitating
the penetration of this molten metal by allowing a free escape of air and gas
from the outer mould.
122. Una jebbre eftmera. Lit., "a fever of one day's duration."
123. Some technical terms require explanation in this sentence. The canali or
channels were sluices for carrying the molten metal from the furnace into the
mould. The mandriani, which I have translated by "iron crooks," were
fitted at the end with curved irons, by which the openings of the furnace, j
or in Italian spine, could be partially or wholly driven back, so as to let
molten metal flow through the channels into the mould. When the metal reached
die mould, it entered in a red-hot stream between the tonaca, or outside mould,
and the anima, or inner block, filling up exactly the space which had previously
been occupied by the wax extracted by a method of slow burning alluded to
above. I believe that the process is known as casting & cire perdue. The forma,
or mould, consisted of two pieces; one hollow (la tonaca), which gave shape to
the bronze; one solid and rounded (la anima), which stood at a short interval
within the former, and regulated the influx of the metal. See p. 439, note 102.
124. Essersi fatto un tmgliaccio.
125. The Italian is bracciaiuola, a pit below the grating, which receives the
ashes from the furnace.
126. Gio. Maria del Monte Sansovino was elected Pope, with the ride of
Julius III, in February 1550.
127. This man was a member of a very noble Florentine family. Born in 1491,
he was at this epoch Tuscan Consul in Rome. Cellini's bust of him still exists
in die Palazzo Altovki at Rome.
128. This was one of the three Councils created by Clement VII in 1532,
when he changed the Florentine constitution. It corresponded to a Senate.
NOTES
129. To make die sum correct, 5200 ought to have been lent the Duke.
130. His despatches form a valuable series of historical documents. Firenze,
Le Moimier, 1853.
131. Upon the death of this Urbino, Michel Angelo wrote a touching sonnet
and a very feeling letter to Vasari.
132. Alzo lafede.
133. A popular ballad of the time.
134. In the year 1552, when Piero Strozzi acted as general for the French
King, Henri II, against the Spaniards. The war ended in the capitulation of
Siena in 1555. In 1557 it was ceded by Philip II to Cosimo de' Medici.
135. These artists, with the exception of Pasqualino, are all known to us in the
conditions described by Cellini. Francesco da San Gallo was the son of Giuliano,
and nephew of Antonio da San Gallo.
136. Now in the UffizzL
137. Lions from a very early period had always been kept in part of the
Palazzo Vecchio.
138. Alle sue comoditd.
139. The Prince was Don Francesco, then aged twelve; Don Giovanni was
ten, Don Garzia was six, and Don Ferdinando four.
140. That is, the Loggia de' Lanzi, on the great piazza of Florence, where
Cellini's statue still stands.
141. If I understand the obscure lines of the original, Cellini wanted to kill
two birds with one stone by this epigram both Bernardone and his son Baccio.
But by Buaccio he generally means Baccio Bandinelli.
142. To bite the thumb at any one was, as students of our old drama know, a
sign of challenge or provocation.
143. Jacopo Camicci da Pontormo was now an old man. He died in 1558,
aged sixty-five years. Angelo Allori, called II Bronzino, one of the last fairly
good Florentine painters, won considerable distinction as a writer of burlesque
poems. He died in 1571, aged sixty-nine years. We possess his sonnets on the
Perseus.
144. April 27, 1554.
145. Don Juan de Vega.
146. Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli entered the Order of the Servites in 1530.
This did not prevent him from plying his profession* of sculptor. The work
above alluded to is the fountain at Messina.
147. The Ermo is more correctly Eremo, and Vernia is Alvernia.
148. A village in the Castenino. Piero Strozzi was at this time in Valdichiana.
149. It appears from a letter written by Guidi to Bandinelli that he hated
Cellini, whom he called pessimo mostro at natura. Guidi was made Bishop of
Penna in 1561, and attended the Council of Trent.
150. A small Tuscan coin.
151. A warm partisan of the Medici. He was a cousin of Maria Salviati,
Cosimo's mother. It was rumoured that he caused the historian Francesco Guic-
ciardini's death by poison. We find him godfather to one of Cellini's children.
152. This Salviati and the De' Nobili mentioned afterwards occupied a dis-
tinguished place in Florentine annals as partisans of the Medici.
153. Cellini began to write his memoirs in 1558. Eight years had therefore now
elapsed.
154. Bandinelli was a Knight of S. James of Compostella.
155. Onofrio de' Bartolini was made Archbishop of Pisa in 1518, at the age of
about seventeen. He was a devoted adherent of the Medici. He was shut up with
NOTES
Clement in S. Angelo, and sent as hostage to the Imperial army. Pandolfo della
Stufa had been cup-bearer to Caterina de' Medici while Dauphiness.
156. A native of Fano. Cosimo's Auditore, 1539; first Secretary or Grand
Chancellor, 1546. He was a great jurist.
157. Suoauditore.
158. It was Baccio d'Agnolo who altered Brunelleschi's plan for the cupola.
Buonarroti used to say that he made it look like a cage for crickets. His work
remained unfinished.
159. Operai di S. Maria del Fiore.
1 60. He means Ghiberti's second door, in all probability.
161. Instead of "the Grieve," which is not a navigable stream, it appears that
Cellini ought to have written **the Ombrone."
162. This sculptor was born in 1511, and died in 1592. He worked under Ban-
dinelli and Sansovino.
163. Probably Girolamo Lucchesini.
164. / loro Operai.
165. Gian Bologna, or Jean Boullogne, was born at Douai about 1530. He
went, while a very young man, to Rome, and then settled at Florence. There
he first gained reputation by a Venus which the Prince Francesco bought.
The Neptune on the piazza at Bologna, which is his work, may probably have
been executed from the model he made in competition upon this occasion.
Vincenzo Danti was born at Perugia in 1530. He produced the bronze statue of
Pope Julius HI, which may still be seen in his native city. Simone Cioli, called
n Mosca, was a very fair sculptor who died in 1554, leaving a son, Francesco,
called n Moschino, who was also a sculptor, and had reached the age of thirty
at this epoch. It is therefore to this Moschino probably that Cellini refers above.
1 66. Giorgio Vasari.
167. Probably Gianstefano Lalli.
1 68. What Cellini means is that Sbietta was to work the farm, paying Cellini
its annual value. It appears from some particulars which follow that the entrate
were to be paid in kind.
169. The word confini, which I have translated "boundaries," may mean
limiting conditions.
170. From Cellini's Ricordi it appears that he bought a farm at this village,
northeast of Florence, on October 26, 1548. In 1556 he also purchased land there.
171. The Alpi are high mountain pastures in the Apennines.
172. What follows has been so carefully erased, possibly by Cellini's own
hand, in the autograph, that it is illegible. Laura Battiferra, Ammanato's wife,
was a woman of irreproachable character, whom Cellini himself praised in a
sonnet.
173. October 28, 1560.
174. This man was the son of a peasant at Terranuova, in Valdarno. He ac-
quired great wealth and honour at the court of Duke Cosimo, and was grand-
father of the notorious Marechal d' Ancre.
175. Scudi di moneta, not d*oro.
176. This seems to be the meaning of comprare con riservo di tre ami. Cellini
elsewhere uses the equivalent term of potto resolutivo. See Tassi, vol. ii, p. 583.
177. The Duchess would not take the crucifix as a gift. The Duke bought it
for fifteen hundred golden crowns, and transferred it to the Pitti in 1565. It was
given by the Grand Duke Francesco in 1576 to Philip II, who placed it in the
Escorial, where it now is.
178. This painter is chiefly famous for his "Descent from the Cross* 9 in the
Charch of the Triniti de' Monti at Rome. He died in 1566.
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